The leaves of the common box, Buxus sempervirens (Buxaceae), become red as the level of a red carotenoid, anhydroeschscholtzxanthin, increases

Carotenoids from the leaves of the common box, Buxus sempervirens (Buxaceae), which turn red in late autumn to winter, were analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC. A novel carotenoid, monoanhydroeschscholtzxanthin (3), was isolated from the red-colored leaves. UVVIS, MS, 1H-NMR and CD spectral data showed...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Plant Research 1995-09, Vol.108 (1091), p.369-376
Main Authors: Ida, K. (Osaka Women's Univ., Sakai (Japan)), Masamoto, K, Maoka, T, Fujiwara, Y, Takeda, S, Hasegawa, E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
BUXUS
CAROTENOIDE
CAROTENOIDES
FEUILLE
HOJAS
PIGMENTACION
PIGMENTATION
XANTHINE
XANTINAS
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Carotenoids from the leaves of the common box, Buxus sempervirens (Buxaceae), which turn red in late autumn to winter, were analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC. A novel carotenoid, monoanhydroeschscholtzxanthin (3), was isolated from the red-colored leaves. UVVIS, MS, 1H-NMR and CD spectral data showed that the structure of 3 was (3S)-2',3',4',5'-tetradehydro-4,5'-retro-beta, beta-caroten-3-ol. As well as anhydroeschscholtzxanthin (2), the major red carotenoid in the leaves, eschscholtzxanthin (4) was identified. Very small amounts of yellow carotenoids (neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein and beta-carotene), which are major components of green leaves, were present in the red-colored leaves. The amounts of chlorophyll a and b in the leaves decreased markedly during coloration, even at the early stages, whereas those of the yellow carotenoids decreased gradually. In contrast, the content of 2, a red carotenoid, increased steadily during coloration. The biosynthetic pathway of 2 in B. sempervirens was deduced tentatively on the basis of the individual carotenoid contents during autumnal coloration
ISSN:0918-9440
1618-0860
DOI:10.1007/bf02344362