Structure
Beta-carotene
is a member of a family of molecules known as the carotenoids.
These have a basic structure made up of isoprene units:
Isoprene
The central part of a carotenoid
Beta-carotene is made up of eight isoprene units, which are cyclised at each end. It looks like this:
Beta-carotene - click on image to view Chime version
The long conjugated chain is responsible for the orange colour of beta-carotene.
Isoprene
These are joined
end-to-end to give a conjugated chain which is common to all carotenoids.
Notice that the two centre isoprene units are joined differently to the others
("head-to-head" rather than "head-to-tail") so that the chain has a centre
of symmetry.
The central part of a carotenoid
Beta-carotene is made up of eight isoprene units, which are cyclised at each end. It looks like this:
Beta-carotene - click on image to view Chime version
The long conjugated chain is responsible for the orange colour of beta-carotene.
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