Abstract
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) rapidly extracts much of the chlorophyll c and fucoxanthin from the intact thalli of brown algae. Subsequent extraction by acetone rapidly removes most of the chlorophyll a and β-carotene. An analytical procedure for these pigments has been developed, based upon this extraction sequence, followed by partition of the acetone extract between hexane and aqueous acetone. Fucoxanthin and chlorophyll c can be recovered from the DMSO extract and the aqueous acetone phase by extraction into ethyl acetate and subsequent evaporation. The DMSO-acetone extraction sequence is also effective with green algae and a few red algae, although the full scope of the method has not been investigated.
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Communicated by T. R. Parsons, Vancouver
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Seely, G.R., Duncan, M.J. & Vidaver, W.E. Preparative and analytical extraction of pigments from brown algae with dimethyl sulfoxide. Marine Biology 12, 184–188 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350754
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350754