PIGMENTATION OF PACIFIC WHITE SHRIMP (Litopenaeus vannamei, BOONE 1931) WITH ESTERIFIED AND SAPONIFIED CAROTENOIDS FROM RED CHILI Capsicum annuum) IN COMPARISON TO ASTAXANTHIN PIGMENTACION DEL CAMARON BLANCO DEL PACIFICO (Litopenaeus vannamei, BOONE 1931) CON CAROTENOIDES DE CHILE (Capsicum annuum), ESTERIFICADOS Y SAPONIFICADOS, EN COMPARACION CON LA ASTAXANTINA

Pacific white shrimp were fed diets containing esterified and saponified carotenoids obtained from red chili extracts. The pigmenting effect of these carotenoids was compared with a non-pigment supplemented control diet and synthetic astaxanthin (Carophyll Pink) supplemented diet. After 14 days the shrimp showed that the diet containing 250 mg/kg of esterified carotenoids produced a better pigmentation effect in the exoskeleton and a slightly lower pigmentation effect in the abdomen than astaxanthin. These results suggest that capsanthin, which accounts for around 40% of the total carotenoids in red chili extracts, is metabolized and deposited as astaxanthin in the abdomen and exoskeleton of Pacific white shrimp.