Carotenoids

Carotenoids are a type of widely-spread natural pigments, for which it has been proved that they appear in all three life domains; in eubacteria, archaebacteria and eukaryotes.

Rich source of carotenoids are algae from which more than 100 species were isolated and characterized.

Carotenoids were previously viewed as the predecessor of vitamin A, but the researches have shown that they have quite an independent role in strengthening immunity.

However, researches regarding their role are still in their infancy.  Carotenoids are found only in plants, and in order to satisfy animal requirements for the same we need to rely on plant sources or supplements.