only its precursors. But without these pigment
precursors there would be no vitamin A in
animals either. In the eye, vitamin A becomes
part of the receptor molecule that detects light
and allows us to see. Elsewhere in the body it
has a number of other important roles.
Red and Purple Anthocyanins, Pale Yellow
Anthoxanthins Anthocyanins (from the
Greek for “blue flower”) are responsible for
most of the red, purple, and blue colors in
plants, including many berries, apples,
cabbage, radishes, and potatoes. A related
group, the anthoxanthins (“yellow flower”)
are pale yellow compounds found in potatoes,
onions, and cauliflower. This third major class
of plant pigments is a subgroup of the huge
phenolic family, which is based on rings of 6
carbon atoms with two-thirds of a water
molecule (OH) attached to some of them,
which makes phenolics soluble in water. The
anthocyanins have 3 rings. There are about