Nutraceutical beta-carotene from natural non-conventional sources and its applications

Nutraceutical is a food or food product that reportedly provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of diseases. Carotenoids are the most common naturally occurring terpenoid pigmented nutraceuticals. beta-carotene is the main source of provitamin A and has widely been used as a food colorant and nutraceutical. Epidemiological evidences and experimental results suggest that beta-carotene inhibit the onset of many diseases in which free radicals are thought to play a role in initiation such as arteriosclerosis in cardiovascular diseases, cataracts, age related macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis and most importantly cancer, due to it's free radical and single oxygen scavenging property. The outstanding quencher function of beta-carotene advocates dietary supplementation. beta-carotene is present at high concentrations in a variety of plant sources. However, the seasonal variations in the carotenoid content and composition of plant sources have been considered as disadvantage. The production of. beta-carotene can be achieved through biotechnology from non-conventional sources viz., algae, yeasts, bacteria or filamentous fungi.