What is the difference between carotenoids and beta-carotene?
Carrot is a nutritious and delicious vegetable and a common dish with rich nutritional value. Carrots are rich in carotenoids and other nutrients, which have a variety of nutritional values such as bright eyes and beauty. Carotenoids and beta-carotene are nutrients that we often hear about. So are carotenoids and beta-carotene the same? What is the difference between the two?
What are carotenoids
Carotenoids is a general term for an important class of natural pigments, belonging to compounds, commonly found in animals, higher plants, fungi, algae and bacteria, is a yellow, orange-red or red pigment, mainly containing β-carotene and γ-carotene, hence the name. Carotenoids are insoluble in water and soluble in fat and fat solvents, also known as lipochromes. Since the isolation of carotenoids in the early 1800s, nearly 450 natural carotenoids have been identified.
Plant carotenoids are found in a variety of yellow plastids or colored plastids, such as yellow leaves in the fall, yellow flowers, yellow and red fruits, and yellow tubers. Animal carotenoids are primarily pigments of fat, egg yolk, feathers and fish scales, and the carapace of shrimp and crabs. Animal carotenoids are generally bound to proteins, such as astaxanthin, which is contained in shrimp egg yolk, and shrimp ovalbumin, which is a complex of astaxanthin and a phospholipid-rich lipoprotein.
What is beta-carotene
Beta-carotene is one of the carotenoids, an orange-yellow, fat-soluble compound that is the most prevalent and stable natural pigment in nature. It is the most common and stable natural pigment in nature. Many natural foods, such as green vegetables, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, papaya, mango, etc., are rich in beta-carotene.
Beta-carotene is an antioxidant with detoxifying effects, and is an indispensable nutrient for human health. It has significant functions in anti-cancer, prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cataracts and antioxidant, and in turn prevents aging and many degenerative diseases caused by aging.
The difference between the two
There is a difference between beta-carotene and carotenoids. Carotenoids is a large class, is a general term for natural pigments, while beta-carotene belongs to a carotenoid, on the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, improve human immunity, vision protection has significant effects.