Water → Astaxanthin

Participants

Reaction Steps

Zeaxanthin (50 mg) was stirred in 20 ml of chloroform under nitrogen. To this stirred mixture, 200 mg of sodium chlorate and 50 mg of sodium iodide in 10 ml of water was added. The mixture was acidified slowly with 1 ml of 27% sulfuric acid. The reaction was stirred at room temperature. After 5 hours, a significant quantity of astaxanthin had formed. The reaction was worked up by addition of 1 ml of 40% sodium hydroxide, separation of the organic solution and evaporation to yield astaxanthin.

Provenance & Evidence