Question asked 4/15/02, What is dry preservative? A reply submitted by
The Taxidermologist, alias stephen.rogers, contained the following quote,
"Well documented studies have been published in the mammal literature
suggesting that because of the Beta-carotenoid pigments in mammals,
Borax never be used BECAUSE of modifications in color, which as you
know is a key character is speciation."
In the past, I have strained my feeble little mind over this carotene/
carotenoid business to the point I 'bout peed my pants from the strain.
I just finished going through several text from the personal library,
all my literature is the "cook from scratch" variety. I could find
nothing on Beta-carotenoid or B-carotene, only on Beta oxidation. I did
check the Archives before making this post, even did a w.w.w. Google
Search while there. It did produce a molecular model of linear structure.
I am left to assume that the quote was indicating the Beta-carotenoid
pigments were involved in hair structure. If so, this would raise a
number of questions.
The carotene or carotenoid would come from an ingested plant, including
algae and cyano-bacteria. The abbreviated cycle would be ingestion,
digestion, with direct absorption taking place, deposited with the fat
deposits (carotene/carotenoids are fat soluble), drawn from the fat
storage deposits with a lipid (fat) by the circulatory system to the
liver, where it is converted to vitamin A and I am not sure, but I think
vitamin E also.
The herbivore gets a direct source, the carnivore gets the source "second
hand", either from fat deposits or gut content, the omnivore has two sources.
Carotene has a profound effect on color of many scaled fishes. Light
reflection back through translucent skin and scales from the orange and
yellow pigments deposited in fat can cause a golden or yellow cast in
even the same individual fish that could have been "bronzy" or "washed-
out" before hand. Flamingos loose their pink with out carotene (correct
me on that one if I'm wrong, I'm going way back in the memory bank).
The deer from this neck of the woods, which is really crop land, carry
huge amounts of really yellow back fat from ingestion of large quatities
of corn and soybeans.
So now, with mammals, is there more to this carotene/carotenoid cycle
that is directly or indirectly affecting the hair? Is it due to secretion
from the individual hair's individual oil gland forming a superficial
coating? Is it being incorporated directly into the hair structure
during the growth phase? Is it a "core-like" structure in the center
of the hair shaft, originating from the follicle?
There are pigments in abundance that appear to lend quite a bit of
structural support to the hollow portion of whitetail hair. They can
be readily dissolved with oxalic acid. Are these of a Beta-carotenoid
structure?
If Mr. stephen.rogers or any one else can shed more light on this subject,
it would be greatly appreciated.
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Essentially everything I write here is off the top of my memory - I will have to go to my archive of literature and clarify this. Some of it is keyed in on soluable colors under certain circumstances, as you presume, but also a general degradation in "foxing" of the colors themselves, presumably oxidation. The intensity of many bird pigments are due to food ingested, especially the many of the reds which often come from crustacean type materials. It will take to time search. All others can answer away.