β-胡萝卜素作为植物成分，几个世纪以来一直被用于为食品和化妆品提供黄色至橙色的色素。β-胡萝卜素可能是自然界中最大的色素家族——类胡萝卜素中最为人熟知的一种。尽管β-胡萝卜素储量丰富且来源多样，但色素行业使用的β-胡萝卜素是通过合成方法制备的。合成技术相对较新，商业化生产始于1954年左右。这种形式的β-胡萝卜素以及类似合成方法制备的角黄素和阿朴-8'-胡萝卜醛在美国和欧洲被允许用作色素添加剂，通常被称为“天然等同物”。
Beta-carotene, as a component of plants, has been used for centuries to provide a yellow to orange color to foods and cosmetics. Beta-carotene is probably the best known of the largest family of pigments produced by nature, the Carotenoids. Although abundant and extractable from various sources, the beta-carotene utilized by the color industry is made synthetically. This is a relatively new development, with commercial production starting around 1954. This form of beta-carotene, as well as canthaxanthin and apo-8’-carotenal similarly synthesized, are permitted for use as color additives in the US and Europe and are usually referred to as “nature-identical.”
