Characteristics of chemical constituents and red pigment of orange adductor muscle of scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis in the Okhotsk Sea and anti-oxidative activity of the pigment

Abstract

  Ordinary, adductor muscle of scallop is white or light yellow, but orange adductor muscle, which is a color variant, rarely occurs. This paper describes the chemical components of orange adductor muscle and the anti-oxidative activity of the pigment contained in orange adductor muscle in the Okhotsk Sea. With regard to chemical components, moisture, crude protein, crude ash, glycogen and free amino acid, there were no significant differences between orange adductor muscle and ordinary adductor muscle. The main pigment of orange adductor muscle was identified by UV-visible, MS, ¹H and ¹³CNMR spectral data as pectenolone, which is a carotenoid widely distributed in marine shellfish. Pectenolone showed anti-oxidative activity. This activity was slightly weaker than that of astaxanthin but stronger than that of β-carotene. Thus, we concluded that pectenolone contained in orange adductor muscle is an effective pigment of carotenoid.