β-carotene

Also known as 1,1'-[(1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyloctadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaene-1,18-diyl]bis(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexene), beta-Karotin, all-trans-beta-carotene, 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-[(1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyl-18-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexenyl)octadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl]cyclohexene, 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-[(1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyl-18-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexen-1-yl)octadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl]cyclohexene, Solatene, Provatene, Provatenol

β-Carotene (beta-carotene) is an organic, strongly colored red-orange pigment abundant in fungi, plants, and fruits. It is a member of the carotenes, which are terpenoids (isoprenoids), synthesized biochemically from eight isoprene units and thus having 40 carbons.

OverviewAI-generated

β-carotene is a chemical compound with the formula C₄₀H₅₆. It has a mass of 536.438 and a melting point of 180. The substance is characterized by a charge of 0 and a topological polar surface area of 0. It possesses no hydrogen bond donors or acceptors. The xlogp value for β-carotene is 13.5.

The compound is associated with 19,971 entries in the PubMed database. It is referenced by 622 other encyclopedia articles. The chemical structure is defined by specific SMILES notations, including a canonical form and an isomeric form that details its stereochemistry.

Synthesized by Vinony from 19 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, PubMed, PubChem, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula: C40H56
Molecular weight: 536.9 g/mol
IUPAC name: 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-[(1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyl-18-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexen-1-yl)octadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl]cyclohexene
SMILES: CC1=C(C(CCC1)(C)C)/C=C/C(=C/C=C/C(=C/C=C/C=C(/C=C/C=C(/C=C/C2=C(CCCC2(C)C)C)\C)\C)/C)/C
InChIKey: OENHQHLEOONYIE-JLTXGRSLSA-N
XLogP: 13.5
Polar surface area: 0 Å²
H-bond donors: 0
H-bond acceptors: 0
Formal charge: 0

via PubChem

Research

19,971 papers

[Beta-carotene].Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine · 2004
beta-carotene: friend or foe?Fundamental and applied toxicology : official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 1997
Beta-carotene in dermatology: Does it help?Acta dermatovenerologica Alpina, Pannonica, et Adriatica · 2008
The effects of β-carotene on osteoporosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2023
Dunaliella β-Carotene Productivity Comparison Under In Vitro Conditions.Current microbiology · 2024

via PubMed

~14 min read

Encyclopedic overview

21 sections

Contents

Provitamin A activity
Absorption, metabolism and excretion
Conversion factors
Retinol activity equivalents (RAEs)
International Units
Dietary sources
No dietary requirement
Side effects
Carotenosis
No risk for hypervitaminosis A
Drug interactions
β-Carotene and lung cancer in smokers
Industrial sources
Research
Macular degeneration
Cancer
Cataract
Erythropoietic protoporphyria
Food drying
See also
References

Dietary β-carotene is a provitamin compound, converting in the body to retinol (vitamin A). In foods, it has rich content in carrots, pumpkin, spinach, and sweet potato. It is used as a dietary supplement and may be prescribed to treat erythropoietic protoporphyria, an inherited condition of sunlight sensitivity.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “β-carotene” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.