The chemical structure of the pigments in Ara macao plumage.
Parrots (Psittaciformes) harbor unusually bright, non-carotenoid, feather pigments. We successfully extracted and purified a sufficient quantity of pigment from the red plumage of the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) for a partial chemical analysis. The extracts were analyzed by HPLC coupled with UV-VIS and mass spectroscopy before and after total hydrogenation. We found at least four pigment components. We propose a linear polyenal structure comparable with the molecules tetradecahexenal, hexadecaheptenal, octadecaoctenal and eicosanonenal.
Stradi
R
R
Facoltà di Farmacia, Istituto di Chimica Organica, Università di Milano, Via Venezian, 21 20133, Milano, Italy. stradi@mailserver.unimi.it
Pini
E
E
Celentano
G
G
D000818:Animals; D002845:Chromatography; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008956:Models, Chemical; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000737:chemistry*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011563:Psittaciformes; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D010860:Pigments, Biological