Ever throw away a brown banana which seemed to have been green just yesterday? Was the banana part of a bunch? Were there any tomatoes or apples on your counter by the banana?

Augustus Binu [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

One of my professors once said (ok I lied, he actually says this all the time), “Plants are the world’s best biochemists.” And it is very true. Plants produce thousands of different types of phytochemicals, including pigments, toxins, hormones, signaling molecules, the list goes on and on. This is going to be the first in a series called “Best Biochemists” where I’ll highlight different plant produced chemicals. Today’s post is going to scratch the surface of the beautifully colored carotenoids.

Fall Leaves - personal photograph