Question

Name the two photosynthetic pigments associated with carotenoids.

Answer 1

A photosynthetic pigment is a pigment that can be observed in chloroplasts and bacteria which are photosynthetic. These pigments capture enough light, which helps photosynthesis to occur. Carotenoids are very abundant. They are pigments that are said to be important for photosynthesis.

Complete answer:
As we know that the two different types of carotenoids are xanthophyll and carotenes. The xanthophyll generally comprises oxygen, whilst carotenes do not have oxygen.
Furthermore, both these photosynthetic pigments take-in different wavelengths of light in plants. Carotenes more likely appear to be orange in colour, whereas xanthophyll appear to be yellow in colour. Both the pigments stimulate absorption of light.
These photosynthetic pigments also safeguard plants against the extreme, superfluous quantity of sunlight. Carotene takes-in energy from oxygen and further shields the plant while the process of photosynthesis takes place.

Hence, the pigments allied with carotenoids are Carotene and Xanthophyll.

Additional information:
Photosynthetic pigments transfer the absorbed light to various photosystems. These photosynthetic pigments might be either primary or accessory pigments. Plants which are green take help of photosynthesis to make food from natural sources available in the atmosphere like sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, etc. The highest amount of carotene is found in dried carrots which is measured in retinol activity equivalents.

There are a lot of pigments because each pigment absorbs light more proficiently in every different part of the electromagnetic spectrum. For instance- the xanthophyll absorbs light well at 400–530 nm.

Carotenoid degraded products are a rich source of fragrance and thus are widely used in perfumes and fragrance industries. Even the sweet smell of fruits and floral smell in black tea is also due to the breakdown products of carotenoids.

Note: This should be kept in mind that carotenoids contain hydrocarbon. There are four kinds of carotene known to be as: alpha and beta carotene, lycopene and rhodopsin. Like xanthophyll, they also carry properties of an antioxidant. Moreover, 3 kinds of xanthophyll are known to be as: zeaxanthin, canthaxanthin, and lutein. As mentioned before, these carry properties of antioxidants.