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Fresh pimento pulp waste was dehydrated in a pilot Arnold dehydrator to give meals rich in the red xanthophylls, primarily capsanthin. Xanthophyll content of the dehydrated meal ranged from 896 to 1114 mg/kg. Dejuicing of the pimento pulp prior to dehydration decreased charring during drying as well as the quantity of water to be evaporated. Carotenoid losses during dehydration ranged from 17 to 22% for xanthophyll and 0 to 10% for carotene. Although the unprotected pimento carotenoids were rapidly lost during storage either alone or in admixture with dehydrated lucerne, addition of the antioxidant ethoxyquin proved to be very effective in preventing carotenoid storage losses. Levels of 1% pimento meal should be adequate in poultry diets when fed in combination with lucerne meal.

The availability of the xanthophyll of alfalfa leaf protein concentrate (Pro-Xan) was evaluated in two trials with broilers and one trial with laying hens. In the broiler trials, freeze-dried Pro-Xan and Pro-Xan dried in a pilot plant Heil dehydrator at outlet temperatures of 76.7 and 90.6°C. were shown to have xanthophyll availabilities of about 1.7 times that of dehydrated alfalfa and three times that of marigold meal. The xanthophyll availability of dehydrated alfalfa was about half that of pure lutein and twice that of marigold meal. Similar results for xanthophyll availability were found for freeze-dried Pro-Xan, dehydrated alfalfa, and lutein in the laying hen trial.

INTRODUCTION DEHYDRATED alfalfa meal, corn gluten meal and yellow corn are the major natural sources of xanthophyll used to provide yellow pigment for poultry products. The xanthophylls in these natural sources occur largely in the free or nonesterified state (Bickoff et al., 1954; Quackenbush et al., 1961). Dua et al. (1967), compared these feed supplements for pigmenting chicks, and found yellow corn to be superior to either alfalfa or corn gluten meal. However, a recent study at this laboratory (Kuzmicky et al., 1968) found alfalfa and corn gluten meal to be equally effective in broiler skin pigmentation when they were included in the diets of broilers at comparable xanthophyll levels. In this same study, xanthophyll extracts prepared from alfalfa produced greater pigmentation than did the xanthophylls in the whole meal, apparently due to better availability. The feeding of purified xanthophylls to poultry has shown lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin to be…

A previously reported procedure for carotene and non-epoxide xanthophyll (NEX) has been modified for the analyses of dried plant materials and mixed feeds, including those which contain xanthophyll esters. The method employs an ambient temperature extraction and saponification technique which permits rapid analyses of carotenoid pigment sources, including dehydrated alfalfa, grass, corn gluten meal, marigold petal meal, and mixed feeds containing these materials. The results were compared with those by the official first action modification of 39.018–39.023 for carotene and xanthophyll in these materials. The reported method gave the same or significantly higher analyses (p≤0.01 or 0.05) for corn, marigold, and one of the alfalfa meals but lower analyses for the grass meal tested. In only 2 of 10 cases were the variances between methods significantly different (p≤0.01 or 0.05), and in both cases the AOAC method gave the lower variance.

The xanthophyll and carotene contents of eleven lucerne clones were found to be higher during September and November than during June and July. Both carotenoids reached a maximum at or before first flowering and then declined as blossoming progressed. Lutein decreased in November while violaxanthin increased. Six grasses and four legumes were analysed for the principal leaf xanthophylls, lutein, violaxanthin and neoxanthin, as well as total xanthophyll and carotene.

THE xanthophylls from dehydrated alfalfa meal as measured by the new Western Regional Research Laboratory (W.R.R.L.) analytical procedure include lutein, zeazanthin, cryptoxanthin, neoxanthin, violaxanthin, carotenoid oxidation products, and various cis isomers of these (Kohler et al., 1967). Lutein, zeaxanthin, and cryptoxanthin have been reported to be good skin pigmenters while indications are the polyoxycarotenoids are relatively poor skin pigmenters (Quackenbush et al., 1965; Kuzmicky et al., 1968). Violaxanthin has been reported to be ineffective as a yolk pigmenter (Marusich et al., 1960). However, the effectiveness of violaxanthin and neoxanthin as skin pigmenters has not been established. This study was undertaken to determine the relative skin pigmentation potency (R.S.P.P.) of pure all-trans neoxanthin and all-trans violaxanthin relative to pure all-trans lutein. GENERAL PROCEDURE 1 For the two experiments conducted in this study, day-old Cornish-White Rock type cross-bred cockerels (Kimber) were depleted of pigment on a 22% protein soy-starch ration (Table 1) for…

A modified procedure is described for the determination of carotene and xanthophyll in fresh and dehydrated alfalfa and grass meal. In this method, both carotene and total xanthophyll can be measured from a single extract. The carotenoids in dehydrated alfalfa or grass meal are extracted by overnight soaking in hexane-acetone (7:3) ; those in the fresh plant material are rapidly extracted by blending with acetone. A cold saponification method eliminates possible chlorophyll contamination of the xanthophyll fraction during chromatography. Data on the precision of the modified methods are presented

An evaluation was made of several procedures for the preparation and purification of methyl dimorphecolate and methyl lesquerolate. An anhydrous anion exchange resin in the methoxide form was a catalyst for the methanolysis of the glyceride oils. Liquid-liquid partitioning between acetonitrile and commerical pentane is suitable for purifying large quantities of methyl dimorphecolate. Methyl lesquerolate can be purified by distillationin vacuo as well as by liquid-liquid partitioning. Chromatography and low-temperature crystallization also were tried.

Several procedures are evaluated for synthesis of phosphorus-containing derivatives of some long-chain hydroxy-fatty acids, including ricinoleic and lesquerolic acid and their hydrogenated products. The conventional method of preparing phosphate esters by reaction of an alcohol with a dialkyl phosphorochloridate is unsatisfactory, but introduction of the dialkyl phosphoryl group was accomplished by using dimethylformamide as catalyst. Phosphorus derivatives are obtained more conveniently by ester interchange between a long-chain hydroxy compound and a low molecular weight dialkyl phosphite. Purification of the phosphite esters was accomplished by partitoning between acetonitrile and petroleum ether and also by chromatography on a column of silicic acid. Attempts to prepare phosphorus derivatives of the allylic hydroxyl of methyl dimorphecolate resulted in extensive dehydration to the conjugated triene.

INTRODUCTION ALFALFA meal, yellow corn meal and corn gluten meal provide the main pigmenting sources for broilers and eggs. With the advent of linear programming for least cost feed formulations it becomes especially important that the chemical analytical xanthophyll values for these three feed ingredients predict the relative pigmentation produced. Unfortunately the literature on broiler pigmentation shows considerable variation regarding the relative pigmentation potencies of alfalfa, yellow corn and corn gluten meals (Heiman, 1966). Broiler data showing that the potency of alfalfa meal varies from 30.7 to 75% of that of yellow corn meal have been reported based on xanthophyll analyses of the two types of products (Day and Williams, 1958; Ratcliff et al., 1959). Similar results have been obtained on egg yolk pigmentation (Sunde, 1962; Bartov and Bornstein, 1966). Among several possible reasons, the procedures used for the determination of xanthophylls are certainly an important factor contributing to this . . .

The leafy tops of kenaf plants grown as a paper pulp crop were analysed to assess their potential value as a feedstuff. Procedures were investigated for incorporating ammonia nitrogen into the material to enhance its nutritive value. Nitrogen thus fixed was stable during subsequent hot-air drying of the product.

The addition of an increment of water to the extracting solvent increased the extraction of xanthophyll from dehydrated alfalfa meals but not from lyophilized meals. Results of the analysis for carotene and xanthophyll compared favorably with analysis by AOAC method 39.018–39.023.