Question
What are Carotenoids?

Answer

$1.$ Carotenoids are lipid compound present universally in almost all the higher plants and several microorganisms.
$2.$ They are usually red, orange, yellow, brown, and are associated with chlorophyll. They are of two types $–$ the carotenes and xanthophylls.
$3.$ The carotenes $(C_{40}H_{56})$ are orange red and xanthophylls contain oxygen.
$4.$ The light energy absorbed by the carotenoids is transferred to chlorophyll$-a $ to be utilized in photosynthesis.
$5.$ All photosynthetic plants have these pigments that absorb light between the red and blue region of the
spectrum.
$6.$ Carotenoids found mainly in higher plants, absorb primarily in the violet to blue regions of the spectrum.
$7.$ They not only absorb light energy and transfer it to chlorophyll but also protect the chlorophyll molecule from photo$-$oxidation.

Need a full question paper?

Generate a complete, print-ready paper with questions like this in minutes — across 16+ boards, with answer keys.

Start Generating Free