The surface of the sea in tropical and subtropical region is a severe environment for the growth of organisms, because active oxygen and free radicals are generated by intense irradiation with strong sunlight. Recently, it has been reported that the marine microorganisms Agrobacterium aurantiacum produced astaxanthin, which has one of the strongest ^1O_2 quenching activities. Then, focusing on fungal type marine microorganisms, we screened ocean fungus for production of excellent carotenoid with antioxidative activity. Here we report on the structural determination and cultural characteristic of a new carotenoid from marine microorganisms. Strain T-1 producing orange pigment was isolated from the surface of sea water at Tanegashima, Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan in August 1999 and identified as a Fusarium sp. The microorganism was cultured in a 10-liter scale at 25℃ for 7 days on a reciprocal shaker, using a modified marine broth medium. The cultured cells were concentrated by centrifugation, then extracted with acetone. After separation and purification by column chromatography on silica gel and HPLC, successively, structures of the carotenoids were analyzed using UV-VIS, MS, ^1H- and ^<13>C-NMR spectrometry. Neurosporaxanthin β-D-glucopyranoside was identified as a new carotenoid from the strain. A yield of carotenoid in 1g freeze-dried fungus body was found to be 0.25mg. Main carotenoids of the strain were neurosporaxanthin (45% out of the all carotenoids), γ-carotene (32%) and the new carotenoid neurosporaxanthin β-D-glucopyranoside (11%). β-Carotene (5%) and torulene (3%) were minor constituents.
