Collected reprints: Abstract 3453

Collected reprints

Abstract

Decleir, W.; Richard, A. (1972). A study of the orange-red pigment from the accessory nidamental glands of the cephalopod Sepia officinalis L.. Biol. Jb. Dodonaea 40: 188-197

In adult female cuttlefish an orange-red pigment concentrates in the accessory nidamental glands. This pigment is tightly bound to granules which are actively secreted by the glands. The only way to dissolve the pigment is an incubation in 40 % NaOH. Afterwards the pigment becomes readily soluble in most organic solvents. Its solubility, its behaviour in thin layer chromatography and its visible adsorption spectrum prove that the pigment is a carotenoid. It is probably formed by oxidation of a carotene. Since its properties do not correspond entirely with those of the known carotenoids, the new cephalopod pigment was called Sepiaxanthine.

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