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 a variety of nutrients such as carotenoids, which have a variety of nutritional values such as eye care and beauty. Carotenoids and beta-carotene are nutrients that we can often hear about. So are carotenoids and beta-carotene the same? What is the difference between these two?

What are carotenoids

Carotenoids are a general term for an important class of natural pigments, belonging to compounds that are commonly found in animals, higher plants, fungi, algae, and bacteria. They are yellow, orange-red, or red pigments that contain mainly beta-carotene and gamma-carotene, hence their name. Carotenoids are insoluble in water and soluble in fats and fat solvents, also known as lip pigments. Since the isolation of carotenoids in the early 19th century, nearly 450 naturally occurring carotenoids have been identified.

Plant carotenoids are found in various yellow plastids or colored plastids, such as yellow leaves in autumn, yellow flowers, yellow and red fruits, and yellow tubers. Animal carotenoids are mainly 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 astaxanthin, and shrimp ovalbumin, which is a complex of astaxanthin and a phospholipid-rich lipoprotein.

What is beta-carotene

Beta-carotene, one of the carotenoids, is also an orange fat-soluble compound, which is the most common and stable natural pigment in nature. Many natural foods such as green vegetables, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, papaya, mangoes, 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 anti-oxidation, and thus prevents aging and degenerative diseases caused by aging.

Difference between carotenoids and beta-carotene

There is still a difference between beta-carotene and carotenoids. Carotenoids are a broad category, a general term for natural pigments, while beta-carotene is a type of carotenoid, which has significant effects on preventing cancer and cardiovascular diseases, improving human immunity, and protecting eyesight.