Characterization and antioxidative activities of rare C(50) carotenoids-sarcinaxanthin, sarcinaxanthin monoglucoside, and sarcinaxanthin diglucoside-obtained from Micrococcus yunnanensis.

While screening for antioxidative carotenoids from marine bacteria, we isolated and identified sarcinaxanthin and its glucosylated compounds (sarcinaxanthin monoglucoside and sarcinaxanthin diglucoside) from a moderately halophilic bacterium-Micrococcus yunnanensis strain AOY-1. In the singlet oxygen ((¹O₂) quenching model, the IC(50) values of the antioxidative activities of these carotenoids were as follows: sarcinaxanthin , 57 µM; sarcinaxanthin monoglucoside, 54 µM; and sarcinaxanthin diglucoside, 74 µM. In addition, the complete proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) assignments of sarcinaxanthin monoglucoside pentaacetate and sarcinaxanthin diglucoside octaacetate, and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (FAB-MS/MS) analyses of sarcinaxanthin and sarcinaxanthin monoglucoside are reported for the first time.