Vitamin A and carotenoids in certain invertebrates. I. Marine Crustacea

Abstract

Planktonic, benthic and littoral Crustacea were collected from localities around the British coast, from Norwegian and Faeroese waters and from the Antarctic, and their content of preformed vitamin A and carotenoid pigments was measured. Methods are described for the preservation of specimens, the extraction and separation of vitamin A and carotenoids and the measurement of vitamin A by chemical, physical and biological tests, and of carotenoids by physical tests. Free-swimming euphausiids were found to contain, in addition to large quantities of astaxanthin, high concentrations of preformed vitamin A, but no β-carotene.