Carotenoids — 5 is a collection of papers presented at the Fifth International Symposium on Carotenoids held in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 23-28, 1978. The symposium focuses on advances that have been made in understanding carotenoids, including their chemistry, biochemistry, and stereochemistry as well as biosynthesis and biological functions. Topics covered include the industrial applications of carotenoids; synthesis of polyenes via phosphonium ylids; biological functions of vitamin A in normal and transformed tissues; and enzymatic synthesis of carotenes. This volume is comprised of 18 chapters and begins with a review of carotenoid research undertaken over the years in the areas of separation, synthesis, and physical and chemical analysis and further significant advances that are to be expected in the future. The reader is then introduced to the development of the industrial manufacture of carotenoids and vitamin A by isolation and by synthesis, with special emphasis on the use of carotenoids as a preferred class of coloring matters for food and feed. The following chapters explore the progress in carotenoid characterization, chemistry, structures, chemical transformations, and stereochemistry; synthesis of optically active carotenoids and related compounds, carotenoid glycosylesters, and other carotenoids; and genetics and regulation of carotene biosynthesis. The final chapter describes a number of approaches to synthesis of canthaxanthin. This book will be a useful resource for chemists and biochemists.