On the origin and variation of colors in lobster carapace

Shamima Begum, Michele Cianci, Bo Durbeej, Olle Falklöf, Alfons Haedener, John Helliwell, Madeleine Helliwell, Andrew Regan, Charles Ian Watt

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The chemical basis of the blue-black to pink-orange color change on cooking of lobster, due to thermal denaturation of an astaxanthin–protein complex, a-crustacyanin, in the lobster carapace, has so far been elusive. Here, we investigate the relaxation of the astaxanthin pigment from its bound enolate form to its neutral hydroxyketone form, as origin of the spectral shift, by analyzing the response of UV-vis spectra of a water-soluble 3-hydroxy-4-oxo-b-ionone model of astaxanthin to increases in pH, and by performing extensive quantum chemical calculations over a wide range of chemical conditions. The enolization of astaxanthin is consistent with the X-ray diffraction data of b-crustacyanin (PDB code: 1GKA) whose crystals possess the distinct blue color. We find that enolate formation is possible within the protein environment and associated with a large bathochromic shift, thus offering a cogent explanation for the blue-black color and the response to thermal denaturation and revealing the chemistry of astaxanthin upon complex formation.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)16723-16732
    Number of pages9
    JournalPhysical Chemistry Chemical Physics
    Volume17
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 13 Mar 2015

    Keywords

    • lobster, color change, bathochromic shift, astaxanthin, crustacyanin

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