CAROTENOIDS IN LAND PLANTS 



Me Me Me 



Y-carotene 



(iv) Lycopene, an acyclic carotene 1 2 4, 1 2 5 devoid of vitamin A 

 activity, has been known in crystalline form since Millardet isolated it 

 in 1876 and named it solanorubin. It is the main carotenoid pigment in 

 the fruit of the red tomato (Lycopersicum spp.), ^ ^ ® but is subordinate to 

 p-carotene in the green frurted species (L. peruvanium and L. 

 hirsutum) ^ ^ ^ and probably does not exist in the golden varieties. ^ ^ ® 

 It occurs in a number of other fruits such as rose hips {Rosa canina), ^ ^ " 

 water melons (Cucumis citrullis),^^^'^^^' apricots (Prunus 

 armeniaca), 1 3 2, 1 3 3 ^j^g palm (Seafortia elegans), ^ ^ ^ pink grape fruit, ^ ^ ^ 

 and cow-berries. ^ ^ ^ Zechmeister and Cholnoky^^' in 1943 gave a 

 comprehensive list of berries which contain this almost universal fruit 

 carotenoid ; recently Zechmeister has made the list complete up to 

 1947.^^^ Peaches occupy an interesting position because European 

 varieties contain lycopene^^^ as well as a- and p-carotenes, whereas 

 American varieties on the other hand do not contain any lycopene. ^ ^ • 



Lycopene 



The preponderance of lycopene over p-carotene in some fruits is 

 considerable. In commercial varieties of L. esculentum the lycopene 

 content of the fruit is on the average 16 times greater than that of 

 p-carotene ; the values varied between 11 and 32 [xg./g. (wet wt.) of 

 lycopene and 2-1 and 8-0 [i-g./g. of p-carotene ;i2' these values can be 

 altered considerably by suitable breeding^*° {see p. 67). Similarly 

 Jacoby and Wokes^^** found about seven times as much lycopene as 

 carotene in rose hips and woody nightshade berries ; in the case of rose 

 hips the values were 101-834 {Jtg./g- and 74-187 fxg./g. (wet wt.) 

 respectively. The carotene /lycopene ratio is about 1 : 12 in water 



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