carotene

Etymology

From car(r)ot + -ene.

noun

  1. (organic chemistry) A class of tetraterpene plant pigments; they vary in colour from yellow, through orange to red, this colour originating in a chain of alternating single and double bonds.
  2. (organic chemistry) Specifically, a number of isomers of tetraterpene hydrocarbons, C₄₀H₅₆, (especially beta-carotene), present in carrots etc, which are converted into vitamin A in the liver.

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