Hydrocarbons of Gonads of Sea Urchins

Abstract

The hydrocarbons of gonads of sea urchins, Temnopleurus toreumaticus and Anthocidariscrassispina, were examined by gas-liquid chromatography. n-Heptadecane was the major n-alkane. n-Heptadecene, the predominant olefin, was identified as cis-7-heptadecene by GLC retention indices and by mass spectroscopy of the O-isopropylidene derivative. Squalene was the predominant hydrocarbon in both species, constituting 92% of the hydrocarbons in A. crassispina. In view of the similarity between the hydrocarbons of sea urchin gonads and those of green algae, it was suggested that the hydrocarbons, with the exception of squalene, are of dietary origin.