Abstract
The carotenoids represent one of the important groups of natural pigments, especially in the plant kingdom. Carotenoids are biosynthesized from mevalonic acid and isopentenyl pyrophosphate via geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, two molecules of which condense to give phytoene, the probable C40 precursor of all other carotenoids. This chapter discusses general methods of carotenoid biochemistry. Carotenoids are sensitive to light, heat, oxygen, acid, and in some cases alkali, and certain general precautions should be observed in all manipulations. The use of radioactive isotopes in studies of carotenoid biosynthesis requires reliable, accurate, and sensitive methods of radioassay. Radioactive substances can be located on thin layer or paper chromatograms by means of commercially available scanning instruments, or by radioautography. The scanning technique is relatively rapid (hours) but not very efficient, and therefore useful only for locating substances with an activity of hundreds of disintegrations per minute in a small area. Radioautography is much more sensitive, but requires a long time for low activity samples.
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