The extraction of carotenoids from Japanese persimmon peels by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), of which the solvent was CO(2), was performed. In order to enhance the yield and selectivity of the extraction, some portion of ethanol (5 - 20 mol%) was added as an entrainer. The extraction temperature ranged from 313 to 353 K and the pressure was 30 MPa. The effect of temperature on the extra...

The stress-related responses of Mucor circinelloides transformants altered in carotenoid production have been investigated. In zygomycetous fungi β-carotene is the predominant carotenoid, however, in transformants containing the crtW and crtZ astaxanthin biosynthesis genes from Agrobacterium aurantiacum new carotenoid compounds are present. Mucor strains with altered carotenoid content were tre...

The assessment of carotenoid bioavailability has long been hampered by the limited knowledge of their absorption mechanisms. However, recent reports have elucidated important aspects of carotenoid digestion and absorption. Disruption of food matrix and increasing amounts of fat seem to enhance the absorption of carotenes to a larger extent than that of xanthophylls. Comparing different caroteno...

Carotenoid dietary intake and their endogenous levels have been associated with a decreased risk of several chronic diseases. There are indications that carotenoid bioavailability depends, in addition to the food matrix, on host factors. These include diseases (e.g. colitis), life-style habits (e.g. smoking), gender and age, as well as genetic variations including single nucleotide polymorphism...

Carotenoids are essential pigments of the photosynthetic apparatus and an indispensable component of the human diet. In addition to being potent antioxidants, they also provide the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits, carotenoids accumulate in specialized plastids, the chromoplasts. How the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway is regulated and what limits total...

Marine bacteria belonging to genera Paracoccus and Brevundimonas of the α-Proteobacteria class can produce C₄₀-type dicyclic carotenoids containing two β-end groups (β rings) that are modified with keto and hydroxyl groups. These bacteria produce astaxanthin, adonixanthin, and their derivatives, which are ketolated by carotenoid β-ring 4(4')-ketolase (4(4')-oxygenase; CrtW) and hydroxylated by ...

Although different genotypes of mamey sapote with distinct pulp colors are consumed in countries from Central to South America, in-depth knowledge on genotype-related differences of their carotenoid profile is lacking. Since the fruit was found to contain the potentially vitamin A-active keto-carotenoids sapotexanthin and cryptocapsin, we sought to qualitatively and quantitatively describe the ...

OBJECTIVE(S) Carotenoids which are naturally synthesized by fungi such as yeasts can act as an antioxidant which is closely related to their ability to decrease the risk of a variety of degenerative diseases. In recent years, the increase of demand for carotenoids obtained from natural sources has promoted major efforts to improve carotenoid production from biological sources such as pigmented ...

The opportunities to understand eubacterial carotenoid biosynthesis and apply the lessons learned in this field to eukaryotes have improved dramatically in the last several years. On the other hand, many questions remain. Although the pigments illustrated in Fig. 2 represent only a small fraction of the carotenoids found in nature, the characterization of eubacterial genes required for their bi...

Corynebacterium glutamicum shows yellow pigmentation due to biosynthesis of the C50 carotenoid decaprenoxanthin and its glycosides. This bacterium has been engineered for production of various non-native cyclic C40 and C50 carotenoids such as β-carotene, astaxanthin or sarcinaxanthin. In this study, the effect of modulating gene expression more broadly by overexpression of sigma factor genes on...