The Composition of Carotenoids in Tissues of the Ascidian Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766) from the Black Sea

The composition of carotenoids was investigated in tissues of the colonial sea squirt Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766), which inhabits the Crimean coast near the city of Sevastopol. The total carotenoid amount of B. schlosseri was found to be 8.7 ± 4.6 mg/100 g of wet weight. Eleven carotenoids, that is, s-carotene, 7,8-didehydroastaxanthin, 7,8,7',8',-tetradehydroastaxanthin, pectenolone, 4-ketoalloxanthin, diatoxanthin, diadinoxanthin, fucoxanthin, astaxanthin, alloxanthin, and halocynthiaxanthin, were identified in B. schlosseri with the use of the chromatographic and mass-spectrophotometric methods (UV/Vis, ESITOF/MS, and partially 1H-NMR). Among these, halocynthiaxanthin (20.8% of the total content of carotenoids), alloxanthin (15.2%), and astaxanthin (12.1%) were found to be the major carotenoids. A comparative analysis of the composition of carotenoids in tissues of B. schlosseri was carried out for different regions of the World Ocean.