Beta carotene is widely used in the food, feed, and cosmetics industries and is one of the most important carotenoids. It is a natural pigment and a precursor of vitamin A. It has two functions: providing a bright orange color and possessing powerful antioxidant health functions. Nowadays, beta carotene is widely used in dietary supplements, functional beverages, baked goods, dairy products, cosmetics, and animal feed.
When purchasing beta carotene, we often face an important choice: should we choose natural beta carotene or synthetic beta carotene? Both types of beta carotene can be purchased in the market, but there are differences in their sources, composition structures, and market perceptions.
Naturally extracted from algae, plants, and microbiota, it is a complex containing multiple types of carotenoids with higher bioavailability. The synthetic version is chemically pure, with a single structure and lower cost. High-end health food, health supplements, and consumers who pursue green and natural products are the core audience of natural products. The bulk food fortification, feed, and pharmaceutical industries seeking cost-effectiveness are the main markets for synthetic products.
Overview of beta carotene
Beta-carotene is a natural pigment that is bright orange-yellow in color. It is also a recognized important nutrient with antioxidant properties. It plays an important role in maintaining vision, immune function, reproductive health, etc.
Chemical properties
CAS: 7235-40-7
Molecular formula: C40H56
Molecular weight: 536.87
Solubility: β-carotene is fat-soluble, insoluble in water but soluble in fat and organic solvents. This property determines its absorption by the human body, requiring it to be consumed with dietary fat for effective absorption.
Stability: β-carotene is sensitive to light, heat, and oxygen, and is prone to degradation and discoloration with prolonged exposure to these conditions. It is also relatively unstable in acidic environments.
Functions and health benefits
Vitamin A precursor
This is the core function of beta carotene. The human body cannot synthesize vitamin A on its own and must obtain it from food. Beta carotene can be cleaved by specific enzymes in the intestinal mucosa and liver, and converted into retinol (vitamin A). Vitamin A is crucial for maintaining normal vision (especially dark vision), epithelial cell health (skin and mucosal barrier), reproductive health, and normal embryonic development.
Antioxidant properties
As an effective antioxidant, beta carotene can neutralize free radicals in the body. Free radicals are unstable molecules produced by metabolism or from the outside world, which can damage cells, proteins, and DNA through oxidative stress, accelerate aging, and increase the risk of chronic diseases. The multiple double bonds in beta carotene can effectively scavenge free radicals, thereby protecting cells from oxidative damage and helping to maintain cellular health.
Immune system support
Beta carotene synergistically supports the immune system through the above two mechanisms. Adequate levels of vitamin A are crucial for maintaining the integrity of the skin and mucous membranes, which are the first physical line of defense against pathogens. Meanwhile, its antioxidant properties can protect immune cells from free radical attacks, ensuring their normal function and proliferation, thereby enhancing the overall immune function of the body.
What Is Natural Beta Carotene?
Source
Plant extraction: Obtained from plants rich in beta carotene such as carrots, palm fruits, and sweet potatoes through organic solvent extraction, supercritical CO ₂ extraction, and other methods. This method is limited by seasons, climate, and land resources, resulting in high costs and limited yields.
Algae cultivation: The most famous is Dunaliella salina, which accumulates a large amount of beta carotene in cells under high temperature, high light, high salt and other conditions. After cultivation, the product is obtained through wall breaking, extraction, and purification.
Microbial fermentation: This is currently the most important method for large-scale industrial production of natural beta carotene, and Aspergillus niger is widely recognized as an excellent production strain.
Natural product advantages
Natural Health: Consumers are increasingly inclined to choose products with a “natural” label, believing that they are healthier and safer. This type of label can directly translate into higher brand trust and purchase intention, especially among consumers who value health and quality of life.
Value enhancement: Naturally extracted beta carotene (especially from algae) often coexists with other carotenoids such as lutein, zeaxanthin, alpha carotene, etc. These ingredients can produce synergistic antioxidant effects and enhance overall nutritional value.
Differentiated positioning: Due to high costs and limited production, natural beta carotene is often used in high-end or functional products, which helps companies establish a differentiated advantage in a fiercely competitive market.
Natural Products Challenge
Cost Factors: The production cost of natural beta carotene is significantly higher than that of synthetic beta carotene, which is the primary constraint limiting its widespread use in mass-market products.
Supply Stability: Natural sources are subject to significant fluctuations in supply due to climate, environmental factors, and harvest conditions, making it difficult to ensure a consistent and stable supply.
Difficulty in Standardization: Variations in color, purity, and carotenoid composition occur between batches, increasing the difficulty of quality control and formula standardization.
Shelf Life: Natural beta carotene is sensitive to light, heat, and oxidation, resulting in a short shelf life. It requires specialized storage and transportation conditions such as vacuum, dark protection, and low temperatures.
What Is Synthetic Beta Carotene?
Chemical synthesis
This is currently the most common industrial method. Using β – Inone as raw material, beta carotene with long-chain conjugated double bond structure is finally formed through multi-step condensation and coupling reactions. Capable of producing products with a purity of over 90% and stable color. Because chemical synthesis can achieve continuous and large-scale production, with significant cost advantages.
Advantages of synthetic products
Cost effectiveness: From the perspective of synthetic product advantages, cost-effectiveness is one of its core competitiveness. Synthetic beta carotene has a significant price advantage compared to natural beta carotene, greatly reducing production costs in industries such as food and feed.
Stable supply: Synthetic production is not affected by natural factors such as season, climate, and geographical location, and can achieve continuous and stable production throughout the year, ensuring the sustainability of market supply and avoiding supply instability caused by fluctuations in raw materials for natural extraction.
Consistent quality: The industrial synthesis process standardizes the effective ingredient content, impurity content, and other indicators of different batches of products through strict process parameter control and quality monitoring, ensuring the uniformity of product quality and meeting the strict requirements of downstream industries for product quality stability.
Long term stability: Under appropriate packaging conditions such as light avoidance, sealing, and moisture-proof packaging, the shelf life of synthetic beta carotene can reach 2-3 years. It has good long-term storage stability and is easy to transport, store, and use the product.
Scale up: The synthesis process has the ability to produce on a large scale, and can flexibly adjust the production scale according to market demand, easily achieving large-scale production and meeting the needs of the global market.
Synthetic Product Challenge
Consumer awareness: With the improvement of health awareness, some consumers believe that natural sources are safer and healthier, and that synthetic products have potential safety issues such as chemical residues.
Regulatory restrictions: In some countries and regions, there are stricter regulations and reviews on the use of synthetic additives, which restrict the use of synthetic products
Functional differences: Compared to natural beta carotene, synthetic beta carotene has slightly insufficient antioxidant and nutritional functions.
Natural Beta Carotene vs. Synthetic Beta Carotene：Application
Food industry applications
Natural beta carotene applications
1. Organic food and natural products
Natural sources of beta carotene can meet the market demand for “Clean Label” and “Organic” certifications. Consumers generally believe that natural sources are safer and healthier, so natural beta carotene is often used as the preferred pigment and nutrient enhancer in organic juices, natural snacks, and plant-based drinks.
2. High end nutritional supplements
Natural beta carotene is often associated with “high quality” and “plant extracts” and is widely used in high-end nutritional brands. Its added value lies not only in its nutritional function, but also in its “natural advantages” in marketing, helping enterprises create differentiated positioning. For example, beta carotene extracted from algae is often touted as a “non GMO, sustainable source”.
3. Infant and toddler food
In the infant and toddler nutrition market, consumers have extremely high demands for ingredient safety and naturalness. Natural extracted beta carotene is commonly used in infant complementary foods, infant formula, and nutritional supplements. It can serve as a precursor to vitamin A and provide natural color, enhancing parents’ trust in product safety.
4. Functional foods and beverages
Natural beta carotene has both pigment and functional value, and is commonly used in functional drinks, energy bars, and specialty foods that emphasize health concepts. Due to its coexistence with natural carotenoids such as alpha carotene and lutein, it can bring synergistic antioxidant effects, making the product more scientifically supported and nutritious in promotion.
Synthetic beta carotene applications
1. Large scale food coloring
Synthetic beta carotene has high purity and good stability, and can provide consistent and bright orange yellow color effects for beverages, candies, dairy products, baked goods, etc. In industrial mass production, color consistency is key, and synthetic sources can avoid fluctuations in natural extracts between batches, making them highly favored by food processing companies.
2. cost control
In the field of vitamin A supplementation or nutritional supplementation, synthetic beta carotene is more suitable for mass market products due to its cost advantage. For example, in economical multivitamins, functional beverages, and meal replacement powders, synthetic sources are often chosen to ensure price advantages while meeting nutritional supplementation needs.
3. Industrialized production of processed foods
The synthesis of beta carotene can meet the requirements of standardized and large-scale production, especially in foods that require strict formula consistency (such as instant beverage powders, snacks, and baking pre mixed powders). Its high stability and solubility enable it to maintain stability even during high-temperature baking, long-term storage, and transportation.
4. Animal feed additives
In animal husbandry and aquaculture, synthetic beta carotene is often used as a feed coloring agent and nutrient fortifier. For example, it can improve the color of egg yolks, fish meat, and shrimp shells, while supplementing vitamin A and enhancing animal health. The low cost and stable supply of synthetic products make them the mainstream choice in the feed industry.
Cosmetics industry application
Advantages of natural products
1. Antioxidants in skincare products
Natural beta carotene has excellent antioxidant properties, can neutralize free radicals, and reduce skin oxidative damage caused by ultraviolet radiation and environmental stress. In skin care products, it is often used in sunscreen, anti-aging essence and repair face cream to help slow skin aging and maintain healthy luster.
2. High end cosmetics formula
High end skincare and makeup products tend to use beta carotene derived from plants or algae to enhance their natural and high-quality image. The formula not only emphasizes the nutritional value of the ingredients, but also enhances the added value of the product through the selling point of “natural extraction”, commonly used in luxury skincare products or functional cosmetics.
3. Natural cosmetics brand positioning
With the rise of the “Clean Beauty” and “Green Skincare” trends, consumers’ demand for natural and sustainable ingredients is constantly increasing. The combination of natural beta carotene with organic and environmentally friendly labels helps brands achieve differentiated positioning in competition, making it suitable for enterprises that pursue high-end, natural or organic cosmetics routes.
Advantages of Synthetic products
1. Production of ordinary cosmetics
2. Stable coloring effect
Compared with natural extracts, synthetic beta carotene has higher purity and color stability. In the formula, it can bring a uniform and bright orange yellow effect, which is not easily affected by batch differences, and is particularly suitable for cosmetics and skincare products that require long-term storage and long-distance transportation.
3. Cost control advantage
The synthesis process is large-scale and mature, and the price is only a small part of natural sources, which can significantly reduce formula costs. For cosmetic brands that focus on cost-effectiveness, synthetic beta carotene can help companies maintain a price advantage in fierce market competition while ensuring efficacy and color.
Pharmaceutical industry applications
1. API level requirement: Purity>99%
Medicinal grade beta carotene must meet strict standards for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), typically requiring a purity greater than 99%. This not only ensures its effectiveness as a precursor to vitamin A, but also reduces the safety risks that impurities may pose. Both natural and synthetic sources can only enter the pharmaceutical market after undergoing strict purification processes and meeting pharmacopoeial standards.
2. Regulatory compliance: Compliance with USP and EP standards
Pharmaceutical raw materials must comply with internationally recognized standards such as USP and EP. These standards include purity testing, residual solvents, heavy metal limits, stability studies, and other aspects. Synthetic β – carotene has advantages in meeting pharmacopoeia consistency due to mature production processes and small batch differences; Natural sourced products require additional quality control measures to ensure stability and compliance across different batches.
3. Bioequivalence: Differences in absorption between natural and synthetic sources
There are certain differences in the absorption and utilization of natural and synthetic beta carotene in the human body. Natural sources often contain a mixture of all trans and cis isomers, some of which have higher bioavailability and may bring additional nutritional advantages;
And synthetic products are usually dominated by all trans structures, which perform better in consistency and controllability, but in some studies have shown slightly lower absorption rates than some natural isomers. Pharmaceutical companies often need to weigh efficacy, bioavailability, and cost when making choices.
| Factor | Natural Beta Carotene | Synthetic Beta Carotene |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Carrots, algae, palm oil, fermentation | Petrochemical synthesis |
| Purity | Contains other carotenoids | Nearly 100% beta carotene |
| Labeling | “Natural,” clean-label friendly | “Synthetic,” widely accepted |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
| Stability | Less stable, sensitive to light/heat | More stable, longer shelf life |
| Applications | Premium foods, supplements, cosmetics | Mass food, feed, pharmaceuticals |
Specification of Beta carotene powder
Spray dried powder has excellent solubility and rapid dissolution characteristics, which is very suitable for beverage applications and liquid formulations. The spray drying process can form spherical particles with good fluidity and less dust, so as to facilitate accurate weighing and uniform mixing.
Crystalline powder provides the highest stability and concentration efficiency, suitable for applications that require long-term storage or extreme processing conditions. These forms typically have good color intensity per unit weight, but may require special processing procedures to ensure uniform distribution.
Microencapsulation formula can protect β – carotene from the effects of oxidation, light exposure, and processing stress, which may reduce product quality. Various coating techniques, including starch, gelatin, and specialized polymers, can provide varying degrees of protection and release characteristics.
Water dispersible microspheres can be evenly distributed in aqueous systems while maintaining stability through protective coating systems. These special dosage forms are usually expensive, but for highly challenging applications, they can provide significant formula advantages.
Regulatory and Market Considerations
Both natural and synthetic beta-carotene are approved for use in major global markets, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and China.
However, consumer preferences are changing:
- Natural beta-carotene is experiencing rapid growth due to growing demand for natural colors, plant-based nutrients, and green, clean-label foods.
- Synthetic beta-carotene still dominates production due to its affordability and ease of distribution.
Market research indicates that the natural beta-carotene market will experience faster growth, while synthetic beta-carotene will remain an integral part of the cost-conscious industry.
How to Choose the Right Type for Your Business
When selecting beta carotene, companies should consider:
- Product positioning – Are you selling premium, natural, or organic products? Then, natural beta carotene may be a better fit.
- Target market – In regions where consumers strongly prefer clean-label claims, natural is advantageous.
- Budget and scale – For high-volume production with cost sensitivity, synthetic beta carotene is more practical.
- Application requirements – If stability under processing and storage is critical, synthetic may provide better performance.
Some companies even adopt a hybrid approach, using natural beta carotene for premium product lines while relying on synthetic for mainstream categories.
Conclusion
Both natural and synthetic beta carotene play important roles in the global nutrition, food, and feed industries. Natural beta carotene offers a strong appeal to health-conscious consumers and premium brands, while synthetic beta carotene provides cost efficiency and a reliable, large-scale supply.
The choice between natural and synthetic ultimately depends on your business priorities – whether that’s clean-label marketing, cost control, or formulation stability.
At Runtai Chemical, we supply high-quality beta carotene in both natural and synthetic forms, tailored to your specific needs. Whether you are developing a premium supplement, a fortified beverage, or a large-scale feed product, we can support you with reliable sourcing and competitive pricing.
