Carotenoid pigments

Carotenoid pigments are fat soluble pigments of plant origin.

They include-

•      alpha-carotene,

•      beta-carotene (the precursor of vitamin-A) and

•      Xanthophyll.

All are greenish yellow in color and are classed as lipochrome pigments.

Occurrence

Pigments of this group occurs normally in-

•      epithelial cells of adrenal gland,

•      lutein cells of corpus luteum,

•      epithelium of testis,

•      seminal vesicle,

•      Kupffer cells of liver,

•      ganglion cells,

•      egg yolks,

•      butter and

•      adipocytes of animals, such as, body fat of horse and Jersey and Guernsey cattle. 

Pathologically, the same type of pigment occurs in small tumors known as xanthomas which are not true neoplasms.