Production of Carotenoids with Fungi

TLDR: Carotenoid production is rarely the main objective of a culture, but colourful products rich in carotenoids are obtained from various plants and algae.

Abstract: Humans,like most other animals, need carotenoids but cannot synthesize them. Our main suppliers are the fruits and vegetables, with lesser, mostly indirect contributions from fungi, algae, and bacteria. Carotenoid production is rarely the main objective of a culture, but colourful products rich in carotenoids are obtained from various plants and algae. The oldest example is saffron (Crocus sativus), still planted in La Mancha, Spain, and elsewhere for the stigmas of its flowers. Many fields of central Mexico become bright orange in the summer with the flowers of cempasuchil (Tagetes tenuifolia, a kind of marigold), whose dried petals are fed to chicken for meat and egg yolk colour. Annatto is extracted from the seeds of a tropical tree, Bixa orellana. The most familiar carotenoid-rich product is probably paprika, a powder made by grinding red peppers (Capsicum annuum).