STORAGE OF CAROTENOIDS AND OF VITAMINS A 487 



red scallop {Pecien jacohaeus),^'^^ and astacene in the feet of the scallop-like 

 bivalve, the tentacled mussel {Lima excavaia) .^^^ 



Scheer^^* isolated another carotenoid, called mytiloxanthin, from the 

 gonads, digestive diverticulum, and integument of the California plankton- 

 feeding mussel {Mytilvs calif ornianus) . In addition to the above acidic 

 carotenoid, zeaxanthin was found. Almost no carotenes occurred in 

 Mijtilus. 



In the case of the edible Portuguese oyster (Gryphea angulata) and the 

 European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), Brooks and Paulais^®^ reported the 

 presence of both carotenes and xanthophylls; the viscera contained about 

 twenty times the concentration of the pigments found in the rest of the 

 animal. Jones and Murphy ''^^ found that oysters are relatively rich in 

 preformed vitamin A. 



b". Cephalopoda. In general, the carotenoids are largely absent from 

 this group. Lutein was reported in the eyes of three species by Lonn- 

 ^)gj.g 424 namely the cuttlefish (Sepiola scandica), the octopus cuttlefish 

 {Rossia macrosoma) , and the Atlantic octopus, devil-fish {Eledone cirrosa). 

 Carotenoids were detected in the liver of E. cirrosa, but none were present 

 in the other decapods, and they were absent even from the eggs of Rossia 

 macrosovia and Sepiola scandica. Wagner and Vermeulen'*®'^ likewise re- 

 ported the absence of carotenoids from cuttlefish, and Leong^^^ found only 

 traces. 



The above investigations, which indicate the scarcity of the carotenoids 

 in the Cephalopoda, are in line with other studies. Thus, Wald*^^ found no 

 carotenoids in the retina or other tissues of the squid {Loligo pealii), al- 

 though vitamin A and retinene were found in the retina. Fox and Crane^^^ 

 observed the presence of traces of carotenoids in the eyes of the opalescent 

 squid (Loligo opalescens), but none, or only questionable traces, could be lo- 

 cated in other tissues. However, in the case of the liver of the two-spotted 

 Pacific octopus {Octopus bimaculatus) , lutein or a carotenol resembling it, 

 other unfamiliar xanthophylls and /S-carotene, were identified. All except 

 the carotenes were found to be excreted in the ink. 



c". Gastropoda. Although carotenoids have been detected in a number 

 of gastropods, ^^- few detailed data are available. The gonads of the Enro- 

 ls N. A. S0rensen, Kgl. Norske Videnskab. Selskabs Skrifter, 1936-1937, No. 1, 1-14. 



«* B. T. Scheer, J. Biol. Chem., 136, 275-299 (1940). 



465 G. Brooks and R. Paulais, Bull. soc. chim. bioL, 22, 304-310 (1940). 



46« D. B. Jones and J. C. Murphy, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 23, 519-520 (1926). 



«' K. H. 'W'agner and M. Vermeulen, Erndhrung, 4, 193-199 (1939). 



4«« P. C. Leong, J. Malaya Branch Brit. Med. Assoc, 2, 219-228 (1939). 



«s D. L. Fox and S. C. Crane, Biol. Bull, 82, 284-291 (1942). 



