Among birds, vultures show low concentrations of plasma carotenoids due to the combination of their large size, general dull colouration and a diet based on carrion. We recorded the concentration of each carotenoid type present in plasma of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) according to age and sex, that determine colour signalling and dominance hierarchies in the carcasses. We compared the ca...

Many birds acquire carotenoid pigments from foods and deposit these pigments into feathers and bare-parts to become sexually attractive, but little work has been done on the interindividual and temporal variability in the types and amounts of carotenoids that free-ranging individuals have available for use in coloration or other functions (e.g., in immunomodulation). To address this issue, we s...

Background: Past studies have suggested that higher lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) levels in serum and in the central nervous system (as quantified by measuring macular pigment optical density, MPOD) are related to improved cognitive function in older adults. Very few studies have addressed the issue of xanthophylls and cognitive function in younger adults, and no controlled trials have been con...

The endosperm of Golden Rice (Oryza sativa) is yellow due to the accumulation of beta-carotene (provitamin A) and xanthophylls. The product of the two carotenoid biosynthesis transgenes used in Golden Rice, phytoene synthase (PSY) and the bacterial carotene desaturase (CRTI), is lycopene, which has a red color. The absence of lycopene in Golden Rice shows that the pathway proceeds beyond the tr...

4. GOODWIN, T. W. 1954. Carotinoids: Their Comparative Biochemistry. Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., N. Y. x plus 356 pp. 5. GOODWIN, T. W. AND S. PHAGPOLNGARM. 1960. Studies in carotenogenesis. 28. The effect of illumination on carotenoid synthesis in French-bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seedlings. Biochem. J. 76: 197-99. 6. KARRER, P. AND E. JUCKER. 1950. Carotenoids. Elsevier Publ. Co., Inc., N. ...

The growth-inhibiting effects of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at high concentration and the synthetic auxins 7-chloro-3-methyl-8-quinolinecarboxylic acid (quinmerac), 2-methoxy-3,6-dichlorobenzoic acid (dicamba), 4-amino-3,6, 6-trichloropicolinic acid (picloram), and naphthalene acetic acid, were investigated in cleavers (Galium aparine). When plants were root treated with 0.5 mM IAA, shoot epina...