Carotenoids are generally responsible for petal colours in the yellow to red range. The wide range of petal colour in various varieties of calendula originates mainly from combinations of these carotenoid pigments. Nineteen carotenoids have bee identified in extracts of petals of orange- and yellow-flowered cultivars of calendula. Flavoxanthin has been identified as the main carotenoid of calendula petals, and it is clear that this carotenoid is responsible for the orange colour of calendula’s petals. Other carotenoids identified in calendula include lycopene and lutein. As a food additive flavoxanthin is used under the E number E161a as a food colouring, although it is not approved for use in the EU or USA.