Natural pigments were discovered thousands of years ago and since then, they have been used. Pigments are present in all living matter and provide attractive colors that we observe at each step of our life and also play basic roles in the development of organisms. They are synthesized by all forms of life like plants, algae, bacteria and fungi. Natural pigments are used in many industries – as drug in pharmaceutical industry, dying agent in textile industry, color additives in food industry etc. They are either synthesized as primary metabolites which help in the development of organisms or as secondary metabolites that protects the organism.
Carotenoids are one such naturally occurring pigment synthesized as hydrocarbons (carotenes) and their oxygenated derivatives (xanthophylls) by plants and microorganisms (photosynthetic and non- photosynthetic). Some 700 different carotenoids are known to occur naturally, and new carotenoids continue to be identified. They are responsible for many of the red, orange, and yellow hues of plant leaves, fruits, and flowers, as well as the colors of some birds, insects, fish, and crustaceans. All four carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, gamma-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin) have vitamin A activity in humans (Britton et al., 2004). Some familiar examples of carotenoid coloration are the oranges of carrots and citrus fruits, the reds of peppers and tomatoes, and the pinks of flamingos and salmon. They consist of eight isoprenoid