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canthaxanthin
Sign in to saveCanthaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid pigment widely distributed in nature. Carotenoids belong to a larger class of phytochemicals known as terpenoids. The chemical formula of canthaxanthin is C40H52O2. It was first isolated in edible mushrooms. It has also been found in green algae, bacteria, crustaceans, and bioaccumulates in fish such as carp, golden grey mullet, seabream and trush wrasse.
Chemical data
- Formula
- C40H52O2
- Molecular weight
- 564.8 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- 2,4,4-trimethyl-3-[(1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyl-18-(2,6,6-trimethyl-3-oxocyclohexen-1-yl)octadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl]cyclohex-2-en-1-one
- SMILES
- CC1=C(C(CCC1=O)(C)C)/C=C/C(=C/C=C/C(=C/C=C/C=C(/C=C/C=C(/C=C/C2=C(C(=O)CCC2(C)C)C)\C)\C)/C)/C
- InChIKey
- FDSDTBUPSURDBL-DKLMTRRASA-N
- XLogP
- 11.4
- Polar surface area
- 34.1 Ų
- H-bond donors
- 0
- H-bond acceptors
- 2
- Formal charge
- 0
via PubChem
Research
946 papers- Microbial canthaxanthin: an orange-red keto carotenoid with potential pharmaceutical applications.Biotechnologia · 2023
- Canthaxanthin: From molecule to function.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2017
- Canthaxanthin, a Red-Hot Carotenoid: Applications, Synthesis, and Biosynthetic Evolution.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020
- Canthaxanthin.International journal of dermatology · 1985
- Canthaxanthin--the "tanning" pill.Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 1985
via PubMed
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Biosynthesis
- Presence in fish
- Presence in birds
- Effects on human pigmentation and health
- References
Canthaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid pigment widely distributed in nature. Carotenoids belong to a larger class of phytochemicals known as terpenoids. The chemical formula of canthaxanthin is C40H52O2. It was first isolated in edible mushrooms. It has also been found in green algae, bacteria, crustaceans, and bioaccumulates in fish such as carp, golden grey mullet, seabream and trush wrasse.
Canthaxanthin is associated with E number E161g and is approved for use as a food coloring agent in different countries, including the United States and the EU; however, it is not approved for use in Australia and New Zealand. It is generally authorized for feed applications in at least the following countries: US, Canada, EU. In the EU, canthaxanthin is allowed by law to be added to trout feed, salmon feed and poultry feed. The European Union limit is 80 mg/kg of feedstuffs, 8 mg/kg in feed for egg laying hens and 25 mg/kg in feed for other poultry and salmonids.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “canthaxanthin” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.