Question

What is Xanthophyll pigment?

Answer 1

Hint: Biological pigments are substances produced by living organisms which produce color by absorbing selective wavelengths of light. Biological pigments can be present in plants, animals, fungi, monerans, protists, for example- In humans,hair contains melanin pigment in specialized cells called chromatophores. In plants pigments play various roles such as pigments helps in photosynthesis by absorbing different colours and absorbing different wavelengths of light as per their capacity. In plants, pigments also play an important role in pollination by attracting pollinators.

Complete answer:
Pigments of plants various molecules, such as porphyrins, carotenoids, anthocyanins and betalains. Different biological pigments selectively absorb different wavelengths of light and reflect others wavelengths.
Carotenoids are also called tetraterpenoids because tetraterpenes are terpenes consisting of eight isoprene units which have the molecular formula of C40H64. These are produced by plants and algae as well as many bacteria and fungi. They may be yellow, orange, and red organic pigments.
Carotenoids give the characteristic color to carrots, pumpkins, tomatoes, corn, canaries, flamingos, salmon, lobster, shrimp, and daffodils etc.
Generally carotenoids absorb wavelengths ranging from 400 to 550 nanometers; due to this the compounds to be seen are deeply colored yellow, orange, or red.
There are about 1100 known carotenoids, these are categorized into two categories:
Xanthophylls : These contain oxygen.
Carotenes: These are purely hydrocarbons and contain no oxygen.
Xanthophylls:
The term "xanthos" in Greek means yellow and "phyllon" means leaf. These are oxygen-containing, yellow colored pigments. The xanthophylls include lutein, zeaxanthin, neoxanthin, violaxanthin, flavoxanthin, and α- and β-cryptoxanthin etc.
Xanthophylls present their oxygen either as hydroxyl groups and/or as hydrogen atoms substituted by oxygen atoms when acting as a bridge to form epoxides. Examples of other rich sources include peaches, papaya, prunes, and squash, which contain lutein diesters.
Tetraterpenes are terpenes consisting of eight isoprene units and have the molecular formula $C_{40}{H}_{64}$. Tetraterpenoids (including many carotenoids) are tetraterpenes that have been chemically modified, as indicated by the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups.
Xanthophylls are found in the highest quantity in the leaves of most green plants and help in photosynthesis by capturing light.
The xanthophylls found in the bodies of many animals including humans, and in dietary animal products, are ultimately derived from plant sources in the diet. For example, the yellow color of chicken egg yolks, skin and fat comes from ingested xanthophyll, primarily lutein, which is generally added to chicken feed for this purpose.

Note:
The content of oxygen causes xanthophylls to be more polar (in molecular structure) as compared to carotenes, which causes their separation from carotenes in many types of chromatography. Carotenes are generally more orange in color than xanthophylls. The term carotene derives from the Latin word carota which means "carrot". Carotene pigments include unsaturated hydrocarbons generally synthesized by plants having the formula $C_{40}{H}_x$. Some aphids and spider mites also synthesized this. These are photosynthetic pigments and have no oxygen.