The term carotene is used for several related unsaturated hydrocarbon

Unsaturated hydrocarbon

Unsaturated hydrocarbons are hydrocarbons that have double or triple covalent bonds between adjacent carbon atoms. Those with at least one double bond are called alkenes and those with at least one triple bond are called alkynes...

 substances having the formula C₄₀H_x, which are synthesized by plants but cannot be made by animals. Carotene is an orange photosynthetic pigment

Photosynthetic pigment

A photosynthetic pigment is a pigment that is present in chloroplasts or photosynthetic bacteria and captures the light energy necessary for photosynthesis.- Plants :...

 important for photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...

. Carotenes are all coloured to the human eye. They are responsible for the orange colour of the carrot

Carrot

The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...

, for which this class of chemicals is named, and for the colours of many other fruits and vegetables (for example, sweet potatoes and orange cantaloupe

Cantaloupe

"Rockmelon" redirects here, for the band see Rockmelons. See also Cantaloupe .Cantaloupe refers to a variety of Cucumis melo, a species in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes nearly all melons and squashes. Cantaloupes range in size from...

 melon).