des Plantes (Hermann, Paris), and in 1935 by Lederer's Les Carotenoides des Animaux (Hermann, Paris). Since then a survey such as the present one has not appeared. In order to present a full picture, much of the pre-1934 work has been reconsidered and, as far as is known, every important contribution which has appeared since that date has been discussed. Two peripheral aspects ofthe subject have, however, been omitted, namely (a) the qualita tive and quantitative changes which the carotenoids of plant materials undergo in storage or during processing into food and (b) the carotene (pro-vitamin A) requirements of different animal species; it was felt that the former, about which a great deal has been written, was too technological to be suitable for inclusion in the present volume, whilst the latter is more suitable for a monograph on vitamin A. The very wide distribution of the carotenoids in Nature suggests that, in spite of the superficially diverse functions ascribed to them in different living tissues, there may be some factor or property through which all these functions will eventually be correlated; any suggestion as to the nature of this common property can perhaps come most readily from a comparative approach. Apart from critically surveying the literature this book has been constructed so as to focus attention on comparative data and their possible implications.
The carotenoids are not only amongst the most widespread of the naturally occurring groups of pigments, but probably also have the most varied functions; witness their known roles in photokinetic responses of plants, in phototropic responses of fish and as vitamin A precursors in mammals and birds. Pigments with such wide distribution and such diverse functions are obviously of great interest to biological scientists with very different specializa tions, especially as it is unlikely that the study of the functions of carotenoids is anywhere near complete. The primary aim of the present work is to discuss the distribution, bio genesis and function of the carotenoids throughout the plant and animal kingdoms in such a way that, because of, rather than in spite of its bio chemical bias, it will be of value to workers interested in all the biological aspects of these pigments. The biochemical approach is considered the most effective because, generally speaking, most progress in the study of carotenoids in living material has been achieved using biochemical techniques, be they applied by zoologists, botanists, entomologists, microbiologists or other specialists; what is even more important is that a consideration of the present position makes it certain that further fundamental progress will also be made along biochemical lines.
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