Abstract: Carotenoids have strong bioactivities in vivo. However, carotenoids can be finally decomposed into fragments to form metabolites in vivo. The bioactivities, metabolism and chemical conversion of those fragments have gained extensive attention. In the last two decades, many investigations have demonstrated that the decomposed fragments of carotenoids reveal strong bioactivities and effect on human health. Therefore, it is important to explore the bioactivities of carotenoids from foodstuffs. In this article, bioactivity studies on pro-vitamin A and non-pro-vitamin A carotenoids, such as β-carotene and lycopene, are reviewed with the aim of providing a reference for nutrition and food science.

Key words: carotenoid, decomposed fragment, metabolite, symmetrical cleavage, asymmetrical cleavage, pro-vitamin A carotenoid, non-pro-vitamin A carotenoid, bioactivity