Formula C10H6O6 | Molar mass 222.15 g/mol | |
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2,3,5,7-Tetraahydroxy-1,4-naphthalenedione, also called 2,3,5,7-tetrahydroxynaphthoquinone or spinochrome B, is an organic compound with formula C
10H
6O
4, formally derived from 1,4-naphthoquinone through the replacement of four hydrogen atoms by hydroxyl (OH) groups.
Spinochrome B occurs naturally as pigment in the shell and spines of sea urchins such as the Japanese dull red species aka-uni (Pseudocentrotus depressus), the greenish-black murasaki-uni (Heliocidaris crassispina), and the brown bafun-uni (Strongylocentrotus pulcherrimus). It is soluble in methanol and crystallizes as bright red needles that sublime above 200 °C.
The compound gives a greenish yellow solution when treated with sodium hydroxide, a green solution with ferric chloride, and a green precipitate with lead acetate. It forms a fourfold acetate ester, C
10H
2O
2(CH
3COO)4, that crystallizes from methanol as yellow needles that melt at 157 °C.