Studies on carotenoid-containing lipoproteins isolated from the eggs and ovaries of certain marine invertebrates

1. 1. Carotenoid-protein complexes were purified from the ovaries of Cancer pagurus and Pecten maximus, and from the eggs of Plesionika edwardsi, and their general properties recorded. 2. 2. The compositions of the proteins are similar to those of ovoverdin, the lobster egg (and ovary) carotenoid-protein. All are glycolipoproteins of large molecular size, rich in phospholipids and cholesterol, containing only mannose and glucosamine in the carbohydrate component, with a high content in those proteins investigated of protein-bound phosphate. 3. 3. Whereas astaxanthin is the sole carotenoid component in the Plesionika edwardsi complex, the other chromoproteins contain mixtures of carotenoids. 4. 4. The mode of binding of the carotenoid component(s) in the complexes is discussed.