HYDROCARBON CAROTENOIDS OF THE ('4u SERIES '525 



of those animals in which it is not broken down in the intestinal wall.'^^-^''^ 

 Gallstones from cattle have been reported to contain /3-carotene.^''*''*^ 

 The feces of sheep and cows are other sources of this pigment. ^^" Carotene 

 has been found in calf thymus, and to a lesser extent in the spleen of cattle.^^^ 



The occurrence of |3-carotene as a component of butter fat has long been 

 recognized. Small amounts of a-carotene may also be present,^-* depend- 

 ing upon the a-carotene content of the rations fed the cow. Another 

 animal product which has been reported to contain appreciable ciuantities 

 of jS-carotene is the hen egg.'^^"'" Euler et al.^^^ have demonstrated the 

 occurrence of |3-carotene in salmon muscle; this pigment has also been 

 noted in the roe of many fishes. "■* 



The widespread importance of the carotenoids in marine life is indicated 

 by the recent report of Fox et al. i" on the distribution of these compounds 

 in sediment from the ocean floor. /3-Carotene is the polyene most fre- 

 (juently found in this deposit; the xanthophyllic type is present in much 

 smaller amounts. This relationship is reversed in the marine plants, in 

 which the /3-carotene is the less prominent pigment. The high concentra- 

 tion of /3-carotene in the sediment may be the result of the greater rate of 

 autoxidation of the xanthophylls as compared with that of the carotenes in 

 regions containing dissolved oxygen. A second suggestion is that there 

 may be a selective absorption of the xanthophylls and a fecal rejection of 

 the carotenes by a majority of the marine animals. A final possibility is 

 that a reduction of the xanthophylls to polyene hydrocarbons may be 

 brought about by some marine bacteria capable of acting under anaerobic 

 conditions. |3-Carotene has been found in the sponges, Ficulina ficus, 

 (fig-shaped sponge), Suberites domimcula,^^^ and Hymeniacidon sanguineum 

 (red sponge) , ^^^ as well as in the red-brown tunicate Botryllus schlosseri. ^^° 



c. Related Compounds, (a) jS-Caroteve Oxide, C40H56O. This was ob- 

 tained by von Euler et al.^^^ by action of perbenzoic acid on jS-carotene. 

 It has the empirical formula C40H56O, and it is biologically active. Although 



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