Cryptoxanthin[1]
Chemical name	(R)-3,5,5-Trimethyl-4-[3,7,12,16- tetramethyl-18-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex- 1-enyl)-octadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17- nonaenyl]-cyclohex-3-enol
Other names	(3R)-β,β-Caroten-3-ol Cryptoxanthol Caricaxanthin (R)-all-trans-β-Caroten-3-ol Hydroxy-β-carotene
Chemical formula	C40H56O
Molecular mass	552.85 g/mol
CAS number	[472-70-8]
Density	? g/cm3
Melting point	169 °C
SMILES	CC1(C)C[C@@H](O)CC(C)=C1/C=C/C (C)=C/C=C/C(C)=C/C=C/C=C(C)/C =C/C=C(C)/C=C/C2=C(C)CCCC(C)2C
Disclaimer and references

Cryptoxanthin is a natural carotenoid pigment. It has been isolated from a variety of sources including the petals and flowers of plants in the genus Physalis, orange rind, papaya, egg yolk, butter, and bovine blood serum.^[1] IUPAC nomenclature is a system of naming chemical compounds and of describing the science of chemistry in general. ... A chemical formula (also called molecular formula) is a concise way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound. ... The molecular mass (abbreviated MM) of a substance, formerly also called molecular weight and abbreviated as MW, is the mass of one molecule of that substance, relative to the unified atomic mass unit u (equal to 1/12 the mass of one atom of carbon-12). ... CAS registry numbers are unique numerical identifiers for chemical compounds, polymers, biological sequences, mixtures and alloys. ... Density, or volumic mass (ISO 31), is a measure of mass per given unit volume. ... The melting point of a crystalline solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. ... The simplified molecular input line entry specification or SMILES is a specification for unambiguously describing the structure of chemical molecules using short ASCII strings. ... Carotenoids are organic pigments that are naturally occurring in plants and some other photosynthetic organisms like algae, some types of fungus and some bacteria. ... Species About 80, see text Physalis is a genus of plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae, native to warm temperate and subtropical regions throughout the world. ...

Chemistry

Structurally, cryptoxanthin is closely related to beta-carotene, with only the addition of a hydroxyl group. It is a member of the class of carotenoids known as xanthophylls. Carotene is a terpene, an orange photosynthetic pigment, important for photosynthesis. ... // Hydroxyl group The term hydroxyl group is used to describe the functional group -OH when it is a substituent in an organic compound. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In a pure form, cryptoxanthin is a red crystalline solid with a metallic luster. It is freely soluble in chloroform, benzene, pyridine and carbon disulfide.^[1] Chloroform, also known as trichloromethane and methyl trichloride, is a chemical compound with formula CHCl3. ... Benzene, also known as benzol, is an organic chemical compound with the formula C6H6. ... Pyridine is a chemical compound with the formula C5H5N. It is a liquid with a distinctively sour odour. ... Carbon disulfide (CS2) is a colorless liquid with a pleasant odor that is like the smell of chloroform. ...

Biology and medicine

In the human body, cryptoxanthin is converted to vitamin A (retinol) and is therefore considered a provitamin A. As with other carotenoids, cryptoxanthin is an antioxidant and may help prevent free radical damage to cells and DNA. Retinol, the dietary form of vitamin A, is a fat-soluble, antioxidant vitamin important in vision and bone growth. ... Retinol, the dietary form of vitamin A, is a yellow fat-soluble, antioxidant vitamin important in vision and bone growth. ... A provitamin is a substance that can be converted into a vitamin by animal tissues. ... In chemistry free radicals are uncharged atomic or molecular species with unpaired electrons or an otherwise open shell configuration. ...

Recent findings of an inverse association between β-cryptoxanthin and lung cancer risk in several observational epidemiological studies suggest that β-cryptoxanthin could potentially act as a chemopreventive agent against lung cancer.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Merck Index, 11th Edition, 2612.
2. ^ β-Cryptoxanthin suppresses the growth of immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells and non-small-cell lung cancer cells and up-regulates retinoic acid receptor b expression. Lian, Fuzhi; Hu, Kang-Quan; Russell, Robert M.; Wang, Xiang-Dong. International Journal of Cancer (2006), 119(9), 2084-2089.