Pigmentation of Skin By Carotene

PIGMENTATION OF SKIN BY CAROTENE

Carotene is an orange-yellow pigment that tends to accumulate in epidermal cells and the fat cells of the dermis. It is found in abundance in orange-colored vegetables, such as carrots and squash. Light-skinned individuals who eat a lot of these vegetables, can have an orange hue to their skin as a result of the accu-mulation of this pigment. In darker-skinned individ-uals, the hue does not show up as well. Carotene is an important pigment that can be converted to vitamin A, which plays a role in the growth and maintenance of epithelia and synthesis of light receptor pigments of the eye.