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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Evaluation of the Effect of Growth Factors on Chlorophylls a and b Production from Microalgae
Published on: October 25, 2024
The new carotenoid pigment moraxanthin is associated with toxic microalgae
Olga Mangoni1, Concetta Imperatore2, Carmelo R Tomas3
1Dipartimento delle Scienze Biologiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Napoli, Italy.
Abstract:
The new pigment "moraxanthin" was found in natural samples from a fish mortality site in the Inland Bays of Delaware, USA. Pure cultures of the species, tentatively named Chattonella cf. verruculosa, and natural samples contained this pigment as a dominant carotenoid. The pigment, obtained from a 10 L culture of C. cf. verruculosa, was isolated and harvested by HPLC and its structure determined from MS and 1D- and 2D-NMR. The data identified this pigment as a new acylated form of vaucheriaxanthin called moraxanthin after the berry like algal cell. Its presence in pure cultures and in natural bloom samples indicates that moraxanthin is specific to C. cf. verruculosa and can be used as a marker of its presence when HPLC is used to analyze natural blooms samples.
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