Studies on the carotenoids in the muscle of salmon. IV. Resonance Raman and circular dichroism studies of astaxanthin and/or canthaxanthin in salmon muscle.

Resonance Raman spectra of salmon muscles, salmon muscle water-insoluble fraction and astaxanthin or canthaxanthin recombined with salmon actomyosin were similar to those of authentic standard dissolved in organic solvents. The circular dichroism spectrum of canthaxanthin recombined with Triton X-100 treated actomyosin showed cotton effect. These results indicate that carotenoid-protein interaction in the salmon muscle is weak, and that astaxanthin and canthaxanthin have trans configuration in vivo.