Antheraxanthin
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IUPAC name
(3R,3’S,5’R,6’S)-5’,6’-Dihydro-5’,6’-epoxy-β,β-carotene-3,3’-diol
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3D model (JSmol)
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| C40H56O3 | |
| Molar mass | 584.89 g·mol−1 |
| Appearance | Yellow solid |
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Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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| Infobox references | |
Antheraxanthin (from ánthos, Greek for "flower" and xanthos, Greek for "yellow") is a bright yellow accessory pigment found in many organisms that perform photosynthesis. It is a xanthophyll cycle pigment, an oil-soluble alcohol within the xanthophyll subgroup of carotenoids. Antheraxanthin is both a component in and product of the cellular photoprotection mechanisms in photosynthetic green algae, red algae, euglenoids, and plants.
Antheraxanthin is an intermediate molecule of the xanthophyll cycle in most photosynthetic eukaryotes, namely plants, and some bacteria. In the xanthophyll cycle, specific carotenoid pigments are transformed via enzymatic reactions into either more or less photoprotective biological pigments.
A plant can increase its capacity for (NPQ) and excess heat dissipation by converting the orange pigment violaxanthin to antheraxanthin and then to light-yellow pigment zeaxanthin. The xanthophyll pool, or total xanthophyll cycle pigment levels are sometimes abbreviated as “VAZ” in scientific literature.
“VAZ” is an abbreviation of the cycle’s main pigments in order of lowest to highest photoprotection each pigment provides. Antheraxanthin is denoted by the “A” in the middle, between violaxanthin (V) and zeaxanthin (Z).
The xanthophyll cycle takes place, along with other photopigment reactions, in the membranes of thylakoids within chloroplasts. Antheraxanthin provides more heat and light stability (via NPQ) to the thylakoid membranes than violaxanthin, but less than zeaxanthin.
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Wikipedia