CAROTENOIDS 



Esters from other sources, e.g.y Tagetes aurea have different mehing 

 points and ahhough the component fatty acids have not been identified, 

 this is good evidence for assuming that lutein is capable of esterifying 

 with acids other than palmitic. 



Table 7. — The occurrence ofphytofluene in some flowers {from Zechmeister 

 and Sandoval Arch. Biochem. (1945), 8, 425) 



Species Amount present 



mg./kg. fresh material 



Bignonia spp. + 



Tecomaria capensis + 



Canna spp. 0-2 



Gazania rigens 32-5 



Zinnia elegans 3-6 



Gelsemium sempervirens + 



Eschscholtzia califomica 50 



Spartium junceum • 1 



Mimulus longiflorus 27-8 



Photinia spp. 0-5 



Fremontia califomica present 



Violaxanthin, a minor component of leaf xanthophylls, is the major 

 xanthophyll occurring in marigold flowers {Calendula officinalis)^''^ 

 and was first isolated from the yellow pansy {Viola tricolor) '^^''^ 

 it occurs in small amounts in Tragopogon pratensis * ' * and Forsythia 

 intermedia, Zabel. ^7' Other leaf xanthophylls which have been 

 isolated from flowers are flavoxanthin {Ranunculus acris,^''^'^''^ 

 Taraxacum officinale, ^ ' » C. scoparius ^ ' ' and Tragopogon pratensis) ; ^ "» ^ 

 lutein (xanthophyll) -5 : 6-epoxide in T. patula, ^ « * L. corniculatus, ^ « ^ 

 C. scoparius,^ ^'' Arnica montana,^^^ Tragopogon pratensis, ^''^ R. 

 acris and Laburnum anagyroides ; ^ "^ ° zeaxanthin in A. montana^^^ 

 and cryptoxanthin in Gazania rigens. ^ ' ^ The fruit carotenoid 

 rubixanthin occurs in T. patula. ^^* 



Eight carotenoids specific to flower blooms have so far been isolated 

 (Table 9). Eschscholtzxanthin (C40H64+2O2) first isolated from Esch- 



46 



