LOROXANTHIN, A UNIQUE XANTHOPHYLL FROM SCENEDESMUS OBLIQUUS AND CHLORELLA VULGARIS

A unique xanthophyll, which had been detected before in certain green algae, has now been isolated from Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella vulgaris. This pigment, here called loroxanthin, has also been isolated in its deuterated form from fully deuterated Chlorella. It forms a triacetate, and with methanol plus HCl, it yields monomethyl and dimethyl ethers. It can be oxidized to an aldehyde, loroxanthal. It has been characterized as a hydroxy lutein with the additional hydroxy group on a chain methyl group, probably that on C9. The previously reported absence of this pigment in C. pyrenoidosa has been confirmed. It was present in two marine Cladophora species and in Ulva rigida but absent in Spirogyra sp. and in two marine siphonalean green algae. It is probably not identical with certain similar pigments reported in other vegetable sources and variously described as trollein and trollein-like. © 1970.