TY - JOUR
T1 - Carotenoid composition of a New Zealand (Evechinus chloroticus) and an Australian (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) sea urchin in relation to gonad colour
AU - Brewster, Jodi
AU - Garama, Daniel
AU - Lamare, Miles
AU - Carne, Alan
PY - 2018/8/1
Y1 - 2018/8/1
N2 - Sea urchins are commercially harvested for their edible gonads, also known as roe or uni. Most species, particularly those from the Northern hemisphere are reported to exhibit limited variation in gonad colour, which is proposed to be due to carotenoid pigments. The commercially harvested species from New Zealand, Evechinus chloroticus, and from Australia, Heliocidaris erythrogramma, however, exhibit considerable gonad colour variation, ranging from a culinary desirable light yellow/orange to an undesirable brown. Gonads from E. chloroticus and H. erythrogramma were characterized spectrophotometrically and the carotenoid content extracted and analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The main carotenoid found in the gonads of both species was 9′-cis-echinenone, with lower levels of all-trans-echinenone, lutein and isozeaxanthin. Carotenoid composition contributed to the yellow/orange colour components of the gonads, but was not correlated with the darker roe coloration observed in some E. chloroticus individuals. Our results highlight important considerations relating sea urchin gonad coloration to carotenoid content and as such will provide useful information for the future aquaculture and processing of these two species.
AB - Sea urchins are commercially harvested for their edible gonads, also known as roe or uni. Most species, particularly those from the Northern hemisphere are reported to exhibit limited variation in gonad colour, which is proposed to be due to carotenoid pigments. The commercially harvested species from New Zealand, Evechinus chloroticus, and from Australia, Heliocidaris erythrogramma, however, exhibit considerable gonad colour variation, ranging from a culinary desirable light yellow/orange to an undesirable brown. Gonads from E. chloroticus and H. erythrogramma were characterized spectrophotometrically and the carotenoid content extracted and analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The main carotenoid found in the gonads of both species was 9′-cis-echinenone, with lower levels of all-trans-echinenone, lutein and isozeaxanthin. Carotenoid composition contributed to the yellow/orange colour components of the gonads, but was not correlated with the darker roe coloration observed in some E. chloroticus individuals. Our results highlight important considerations relating sea urchin gonad coloration to carotenoid content and as such will provide useful information for the future aquaculture and processing of these two species.
KW - 9′-cis-echinenone
KW - carotenoid
KW - Evechinus chloroticus
KW - Heliocidaris erythrogramma
KW - RP-HPLC
KW - sea urchin
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047761264&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/are.13736
DO - 10.1111/are.13736
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85047761264
SN - 1355-557X
VL - 49
SP - 2751
EP - 2762
JO - Aquaculture Research
JF - Aquaculture Research
IS - 8
ER -