STORAGE OF CAROTEXOIDS AXD OF VITAMIXS A 481 



l)ron and Lythgoe,^-^ and with aphanin, separated from the "water-bloom" 

 plankton (Aphanizomenon Jlos-aquae) by Tischer/^'^-^^' Echinenone like- 

 wise occurs in the gonads of two gastropods, the limpets {Patella vulgata, 

 P. depressa),^^"^ and in the red-rock sponge {Hymeniacidon sanguined) ."^'^ -"^^ 



In the case of Strongylocentrotus lividus, Lederer-^ ••*-'' reported that a- 

 and iS-carotenes, pentaxanthin, and other xanthophylls were present along 

 with echinenone. In two other species, the purj^le urchin (Stronglyocen- 

 trotus piirpurafus) and the pale sea-urchin (Lytechinus pictus), Fox and 

 Scheer^^-^ observed large stores of carotenoids in the intestine and gonads 

 of both sexes. In Strongylocentrotus lividus, the concentration of carote- 

 noids in the female gonads was three times that in the male gonads. In both 

 species of Strongylocentrotus examined, the gonad carotenoids consisted 

 exlusively of carotenes. On the other hand, in the case of Lytcchinus pictus, 

 the male sex glands yielded about four times as much carotene and twice as 

 much xanthophyll as did the ovaries. 



Echinenone was also observed in the perivisceral fluid and gonads of the 

 heart -urchin {Echinocardium cordatum), and in the urchin {Tripneustes 

 esculentus) ."^^ 



(d) Carotenoids and Vitamins A in Arthropoda. a'. Crustacea: 

 Lwoff*^-'*^^ was the first to emphasize that the carotenoid in the deep-sea 

 copepod {Idya furcata) was present as a protein complex. Carotenoids 

 were likewise noted in the luminous organs of small bioluminescent, shrimp- 

 like crustaceans (Euphausidae) and in the retinae of the shrimp-like 

 crustacenas (Nebalia) and of the hermit crab {Eupagurus prideauxii). 

 Lwoff"-'*^-^ alone and with co-workers, ''°° and Verne, ^^■'~'*^® almost simulta- 

 neously reached the conclusion that carotenoids are attached to proteins 

 in marine invertebrates. 



Astaxanthin is considered to be one of the principal carotenoids in the 

 crustaceans. Thus, Euler, Hellstrom, and Klussmann^^^ reported large 

 amounts of this carotenoid in a subarctic plankton copepod {Calanus 

 finmarchicus), together with a small proportion of a- and /3-carotene. 

 Lederer^^" was able to prepare crystalline astaxanthin from the hermit crab 



^" I. M. Heilbron and B. Lythgoe, /. Chem. Soc, 1936, 1376-1380. 



^50 J. Tischer, Z. phijsiol. Chem., 251, 109-128 (1938). 



«i J. Tischer, Z. physiol. Chem., 260, 257-271 (1939). 



"2 A. Lwoff, Compt. rend. soc. hiol., 93, 1602-1604 (1925). 



«3 A. Lwoff, Bull. hiol. France Belg., 61, 193-240 (1927). 



"^ J. Verne, Compt. rend. soc. hiol, 94, 1349-1350 (1926). 



*^ J. Verne, Les Pigments dans VOrganisme animate, Doine, Paris, 1926, pp. 1-608; 

 cited b}' T. W. Goodwin, The Comparative Biochemistry of the Carotenoids, Chapman & 

 Hall, London, 1952, p. 167. 



"« J. Verne, Compt. rend. soc. hiol., 97, 1290-1292 (1927). 



