Question

Yellowish colour of autumn foliage is due to the presence of a type of xanthophyll pigment called as

• A. lutein
• B. lycopene
• C. fucoxanthin
• D. zeaxanthin

Answer 1

The correct option is A lutein

Xanthophylls (= Carotenols) are oxygen containing derivatives of carotenes, e.g $C_{40}{H}_{56}O\left(cryptoxanthin\right),C_{40}{H}_{56}{O}_2$(lutein, zeaxanthin). Yellowish colour of autumnal foliage is due to lutein. The characteristic xanthophyll of brown algae is fucoxanthin$C_{40}{H}_{56}{O}_6$