**1. Introduction**

Some carotenoids are rich sources of pro-vitamin A and carrots (*Daucus carota* L.) were the first raw plant material source of carotenoids, which were isolated in 1831 [1], while the first separation and purification procedures were performed by Tswett [2]. Pumpkins

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

(*Cucurbita maxima, C. pepo,* and *C. moschata*), as well as orange and yellow sweet potatoes, are usually good sources of carotenoids including α and β-carotene. On the other hand, the yellow sweet and bitter cassava (*Manihot esculenta*) roots were studied by Oliveira et al. [3], which found lower contents of β-carotene. To improve these contents, many efforts have been made through the biofortification.

chain, decreasing their coloration. Thus, γ-carotene, with a double conjugated ring-located bond, is reddish orange, while β-carotene with two of these ring bonds is orange (carrot),

Carotenoids in Raw Plant Materials

109

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78677

The detection of carotenoids, after separation by liquid chromatography methods, occurs in a characteristic absorption zone between 400 nm and 500 nm wavelength; the detection in cisor *Z*- isomers usually occurs between 330 and 340 nm. The intensity of absorption is affected

Carotenoids consist of a wide range of substances, with great structural diversity and varied functions, of which more than 600 have already been identified and had their chemical structures elucidated. They are probably the most occurring pigments in nature, and the many different colors we see are the result of the presence and combination of these different com-

The official nomenclature of carotenoids was established in 1974 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Union of Biochemistry [9].

They stand out commercially in the production of rations for breeding sites (fish, crustaceans, and poultry) and are used as food dyes and in aromas. In addition to the food industry, carotenoids play an important role in the pharmaceutical industry due to their nutritional and functional properties, as precursors of vitamin A, antioxidant activity, among others [10]. They can be divided into two groups: carotenes and xanthophylls. Carotenes are pure hydrocarbons, which have an orange to red coloration. This group includes β-carotene, α-carotene, ζ-carotene, δ-carotene, and lycopene. β-Carotene is the most commonly found of carotenes, accounting for 25–30% of the total carotenoid content of plants and even more in some of

It is also the most active carotenoid, with the highest bioconversibility in the human body, covering 15–30% of all serum carotenoids. β-Carotene is described as a suppressor of tumorigenesis in the skin, lung, liver, and colon, promoting the cessation of the cycle of cell multiplication. It also shows a suppression activity superior to that promoted by α-carotene [11]. Lycopene does not have pro-vitamin A activity but is considered as the carotenoid with the highest singlet oxygen sequestration capacity, possibly due to the presence of two unconju-

Thermal processing can lead to important changes in the sensory characteristics and the content of antioxidant compounds, altering the antioxidant potential of foods. Conditions such as time, temperature, and style of cooking are determinants for the increase or decrease of the

The biological activity of carotenoids depends on their bioaccessibility and solubilization in the gastrointestinal tract. Due to their lipophilic nature, these compounds do not disperse well in the aqueous medium of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, it is important to analyze how food matrix and processing affect their bioaccessibility. Rodriguez-Roque et al. [15] formulated beverages with mixtures of fruit juices and water, milk, and soy applying three treatments: high intensity pulse electric fields, high pressure processing, and thermal treatment, to

by the solvent or the composition of the mobile phase used in the analysis [7].

although both have conjugated double bonds as does lycopene.

gated double bonds, which make it more reactive [12, 13].

total antioxidant activity [14].

pounds [8].

them [6].

Carotenoids are chemically defined as C40 tetraterpenoids (naturally occurring hydrocarbons and their derivatives), obtained by the union of eight isoprenoid (C5) units of five carbon atoms [4].

The purpose of this chapter is to offer some information about some raw plant materials containing high and lower carotenoid contents.
