Reaction of carotenoids with atmospheric oxygen has been
found to occur with relative ease, especially in systems consisting
of purified carotenoids in organic solvents. Autoxidation
of beta-carotene in benzene or tetrachloromethane in the
dark at 30◦C under one atmosphere of oxygen or by bubbling
oxygen through the solvent was found to occur with an induction
period of less than one hour, followed by rapid production
of oxidation products. Under these conditions, beta-carotene
was completely consumed within 30 hours. A combination of
HPLC, FT-IR, and GC-MS were used to monitor the reaction
and identify over twenty oxidation products (see Fig. 3).