Beta-carotene belongs to the carotenoids and is an important part of our physiological non-enzymatic defense mechanisms against radical stress. About 30 to 60% of carotenoids are absorbed in the small intestine; the remainder is excreted (Biesalski et al., 1997). Beta-carotene is the most abundant and most efficient precursor of vitamin A, which is a highly lipidsoluble unsaturated polyene dye and antioxidant found in the plasma. Moreover, vitamin A quenches the free radical singlet oxygen. Lycopene
Living in a new place can be a tough thing. One of the hardest things in my life is to move along from my home country to study in Vietnam because I have to adapt myself to the new environment. After nearly two years of being in Vietnam I have found out that the unique of Vietnamese culture, friendly people, beautiful and attractive places make Vietnam charming and unique. But if you asked me what do I like most in Vietnam, undoubtedly my answer would be the food. Vietnamese food is well-known
America, it was evident that high blood levels of beta-carotene could protect the body against lung cancer, melanoma and bladder cancer. This study was performed at John Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore. The above studies show similar results pointing to the fact that people with high intakes of beta-carotene have a reduced risk of cancer and heart disease. The reason? Beta-carotene stimulates a molecule that helps the immune system destroy cancer cells. It increases the
3. Identification of Beta carotenes. Focus of this review is the identification of beta carotenes in the infrared spectrum region. In terms of metabolism and potential effects on health, beta carotene is one of the examples of most studied carotenoids. Thus the basic structure of beta carotene is made up of isoprene units. These isoprene units are joined end-to-end to give a conjugated chain which is common to all carotenoids. It is cyclised at each end which will looks like in the Figure 7. The
of the compounds β-carotene and chlorophyll in the crude extract of green leaves. The polar silica gel in the column is the stationary phase and acts as an adsorbent, depending on the affinity of the component towards the stationary phase. In general, the more polar component would have a stronger interaction with the stationary phase, and the less polar component would be eluted out first. From the observations of the column chromatography, yellow S2 collected is β-carotene, indicating that
tested on animals and there are no harmful effects, then can the product be tested on humans (Coliherr 2011:2; Pryor & Mackenzie 2014:2). Golden Rice is made to overproduce beta carotene. There are retinoids in the beta carotene that are toxic and this can cause birth defects. Feeding adults and children beta- carotene enriched foods could cause an overdose intake of vitamin A which could thus lead to Hypervitaminosis. The effects of Hypervitaminosis are: birth defects, liver abnormalities and reduced
are carotenoids and chlorophylls. β-Carotene is non-polar and is a series of repeated isoprene units, see Figure 1 for structure. It varies from α-Carotene by the double bond on the left carbon ring which is shifted over to the left by one set of carbons in α. The chlorophylls are also similar; however, β has a higher polarity than α. Their structures are displayed below in Figure 2; they have more rings and integration of non-carbon elements than carotene molecules which makes them the more polar
the level of the solvent being used to elute the extract and what type of solvent was being used. Beginning the chromatography, we used hexanes because they were the least polar which extracted the least polar molecule from the extract (carotenes). The carotenes did not want to elute initially, so we barely increased the polarity by adding one drop of acetone to a large portion of hexanes. Once this extract was completed, we switched to using a 75/25 hexanes/acetone solution to elute the next least
improve all manner of health problems. Containing Foods Plant: Carotene is converted to vitamin A when we eat carotene containing foods plant sources: fruits
We know that Chlorophyll is more of a dominant pigment in green plants, in which hides the color of the Carotenes and Xanthophyll among the leaves. In this lab, we can easily separate these different pigments, through chromatography. What this does it separates mixtures in a liquid into individual components. The technique is based on the fact that each substance
wavelength of light and shows us that it is present. We also, however, wanted to know what else is present in the spinach leaf. The way we found this is by using chromatography paper. After following the procedure, the chromatography paper revealed that Carotene, Xanthophyll, Chlorophyll a, and chlorophyll b are present in a spinach leaf. Introduction: This lab is an investigation
the individual variations are derived (Britton, 1995). Carotenoids are hydrophobic, lipophilic substances, and are virtually insoluble in water. They dissolve in fat solvents such as acetone, alcohol, ethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, and chloroform. Carotenes are readily soluble in petroleum ether and hexane. Xanthophylls dissolve best in methanol and ethanol. In plants and animals, carotenoids occur as crystals or amorphous solids, in solution in lipid media, in colloidal dispersion, or combined with
Genetically Modified Foods and the Controversy Surrounding it According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), genetically modified foods are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g. through the introduction of a gene from a different organism. In this essay, the advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified foods, the controversies of genetically modified foods, the process of genetically modified golden rice
They are mainly found in chloroplast and chromoplast of plants and photosynthetic bacteria. There are six types of carotenoids including; α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and crocetin. Carotenoids with molecules containing oxygen are known as xanthophylls (lutein and zeaxanthin), while oxygen free carotenoids are known as carotenes (β-carotene and lycopene). There are several human health benefits that have been related with carotenoids. They have been proposed to exhibit protection
colors of fall foliage are due primarily to preferential destruction of the green chlorophylls, revealing the carotenoid color. The percentage composition of carotenoids in plants varies with growing conditions. The average weight % ranges are: 13-carotene, 25-40%; lutein, 40-60%; violaxanthin, 10-20%; and neoxanthin,
photosynthesis, converting light energy into sugar. Cyanobacteria, known before as blue-green algae, perform photosynthesis. Bacteria can use multiple dyes. Although cyanobacteria mainly use chlorophyll (green) and phycocyanin (blue), it also contains carotene (orange) and xanthophylls (yellow). We deducted an experiment to investigate the photosynthetic pigments of cyanobacteria using the electrophoresis and thin layer chromatography (TLC) methods to divide and examine the pigments. The electrophoresis
Photosynthesis stuff James Harris Introduction This study hopes to determine which photosynthetic pigments are prevalent in spinach plants. These pigments help to carry out the function of photosynthesis which is the process of utilizing light energy to construct sugars. They assist photosynthesis by absorbing light of specific wave lengths. This process leads to the production of one of the most basic forms of energy on our planet. Both light and dark reactions take place during photosynthesis
Is the production of GM foods a solution to the food crisis or a disaster in the making? Genetic modified foods are organisms that have been altered, they have new genes added to them from other organisms with the main aim being to increase the crop yield and to improve the notorious value. GMOs are seen as a way to the end the world hunger crisis. However, due to the many concerns and disadvantages with GMOs many people are against the idea of them. People are strongly opposed to GMOs as they
Our bodies are constantly being exposed to toxins and harmful chemicals in the air. Free radicals abound in large numbers and create havoc with our health and the immune system. If we ensure that we take sufficient antioxidant supplements, herbs and vitamins, we will be able to fight these harmful elements. It is possible to lead a long and healthy life by taking precautions to guard against this onslaught. We should be able to safely say that we are doing the best we can to make sure that our bodies
Method 1) Microwave oven was switched on and set at different five power (160,320,480,640,800 W) level output. 2) The sample was weighed and kept inside the chamber. 3) Weight of the sample was noted after each 2 min interval with the help of electronic balance after drying. 4) The dried material was taken out and tempering was done for 15 min, after that the sample is transfer to the fluid bed dryer to the second phase drying. 3.7.2 Fluidized Bed dryer The dryer was simple, compact and