Diversity of Polyhydroxynaphthoquinone Pigments in North Pacific Sea Urchins

• Published in: Chemistry & Biodiversity
• Main Authors: Vasileva, Elena A., Mishchenko, Natalia P., Fedoreyev, Sergey A.
• Other Authors: Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences ‘Far East’ Program
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2017
• Subjects: Bering Sea
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cbdv.201700182; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fcbdv.201700182; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/cbdv.201700182

Using high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode‐array detection and mass spectrometry ( HPLC ‐ DAD / MS ) we investigated the composition of polyhydroxynaphthoquinone ( PHNQ ) pigments from sea urchins Strongylocentrotus pallidus , St . polyacanthus , St . droebachiensis , Brisaster latifrons and Echinarachnius parma , collected in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. Identification of PHNQ pigments from sea urchins St . polyacanthus , B . latifrons , and E . parma was performed for the first time. Among the usual PHNQ pigments, mono‐ and dimethoxy derivatives of spinochrome E, not previously found in other sea urchins, were discovered in St . polyacanthus and St . droebachiensis . In St . droebachiensis , two monomethoxy derivatives of echinochrome A were detected, isolated previously from only tropical sea urchins. It was found that the composition and total content of pigments of St . droebachiensis depends on the collection area of the sea urchins and its depth and varies from 88 to 331 μg/g of dry shells. Sea urchins St . pallidus , B . latifrons and E . parma had average values for PHNQ pigment content, approximately 30 μg/g, and St . polyacanthus had a low PHNQ content, 13 μg/g.