Pure and Applied Chemistry

The 14th International Symposium on Carotenoids was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK 17-22 July 2005, under the chairmanship of Dr. George Britton. The International Symposium on Carotenoids is the official symposium for the International Carotenoid Society (http://carotenoidsociety.org), which supported the symposium as did IUPAC. Financial support was gratefully received from DSM Nutritional Products, BASF Ag, Cognis Deutschland, Fuji Chemical Company Ltd., Inexa Industria Extractora CA, Valensa International, Nu Skin International Inc., Cargill Inc., The Alcon Foundation Inc., Kemin Health, Access Business Group, and LycoRed Natural Products Industries Ltd.

The first International Symposium took place in Trondheim, Norway in 1966, and such meetings have continued at three-year intervals since then. Over that period of almost 40 years, the carotenoids field has expanded tremendously and diversified into many fields of study, especially human nutrition and health. There have also been continued advances in our understanding of the roles of carotenoids in photosynthesis and photochemistry, the regulation of their formation, de novo chemical synthesis, and the analytical techniques available for detailed structural analyses. The commercial importance of carotenoids has also significantly increased over the years; the current market was estimated to be around $887 million for 2004 and is expected to rise at an average annual growth rate of 2.9 % to just over $1 billion.

These areas were fully reflected in the 220 invited lectures, oral communications, and poster sessions. The seven articles that appear in this issue embody the themes of the symposium, namely:

- Carotenoids and Health: a series of themed sessions focusing on protection against disease, the eye, molecular and cellular processes, and nutrition

- Carotenoid Oxidation and Breakdown Products and Metabolites

- Carotenoids in Photosynthesis

- Carotenoid Biosynthesis

- Commercial Production and Applications

- Carotenoids and Nature: ecology, etc.

- Molecular Interactions of Carotenoids

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to a most successful symposium, including the local organizing committee, and look forward to the next meeting in 2008, which will be held in Okinawa, Japan and will be chaired by Prof. Hideki Hashimoto.

Richard J. Cogdell

Peter M. Bramley

Conference Editors