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Biliverdin
 
 
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Biliverdin is a green pigment
Pigment

A pigment is a material that changes the color of light it Reflection as the result of selective color absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which the material itself emits light....
 formed as a byproduct of heme
Heme

A heme or haem is a prosthetic group that consists of an iron atom contained in the center of a large heterocyclic organic ring called a porphyrin....
 breakdown. It consists of four linearly-connected pyrrole
Pyrrole

Pyrrole, or pyrrol, is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, a five-membered ring with the chemical formula carbon4hydrogen4nitrogenH....
 rings (a tetrapyrrole
Tetrapyrrole

Tetrapyrroles are compounds containing four pyrrole rings. With the exception of corrin, the four pyrrole rings are interconnected through one-carbon bridges, either in a linear or cyclic fashion....
). Biliverdin is formed when a heme
Heme

A heme or haem is a prosthetic group that consists of an iron atom contained in the center of a large heterocyclic organic ring called a porphyrin....
 prosthetic group is cleaved at its a-methine
Methine

In chemistry, methyne is a tri-valent functional group CH, derived formally from methane. The methine group consists of a carbon atom bound by two single covalent bonds and one double bond, where one of the single bonds is to a hydrogen....
 bridge. The resulting water-soluble biliverdin (C33H34N4O6) is then converted to bilirubin
Bilirubin

Bilirubin is the yellow breakdown product of normal heme catabolism. Heme is formed from hemoglobin, a principal component of red blood cells. Bilirubin is excreted in bile, and its levels are elevated in certain diseases....
 (C33H36N4O6) by biliverdin reductase
Biliverdin reductase

Biliverdin reductase is an enzyme that converts biliverdin to bilirubin, converting a double-bond between the second and third pyrrole ring into a single-bond....
 in macrophages of the reticuloendothelial system
Reticuloendothelial system

The reticuloendothelial system , part of the immune system, consists of the phagocytosis cells located in reticular connective tissue, primarily monocytes and macrophages....
.






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Biliverdin is a green pigment
Pigment

A pigment is a material that changes the color of light it Reflection as the result of selective color absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which the material itself emits light....
 formed as a byproduct of heme
Heme

A heme or haem is a prosthetic group that consists of an iron atom contained in the center of a large heterocyclic organic ring called a porphyrin....
 breakdown. It consists of four linearly-connected pyrrole
Pyrrole

Pyrrole, or pyrrol, is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, a five-membered ring with the chemical formula carbon4hydrogen4nitrogenH....
 rings (a tetrapyrrole
Tetrapyrrole

Tetrapyrroles are compounds containing four pyrrole rings. With the exception of corrin, the four pyrrole rings are interconnected through one-carbon bridges, either in a linear or cyclic fashion....
). Biliverdin is formed when a heme
Heme

A heme or haem is a prosthetic group that consists of an iron atom contained in the center of a large heterocyclic organic ring called a porphyrin....
 prosthetic group is cleaved at its a-methine
Methine

In chemistry, methyne is a tri-valent functional group CH, derived formally from methane. The methine group consists of a carbon atom bound by two single covalent bonds and one double bond, where one of the single bonds is to a hydrogen....
 bridge. The resulting water-soluble biliverdin (C33H34N4O6) is then converted to bilirubin
Bilirubin

Bilirubin is the yellow breakdown product of normal heme catabolism. Heme is formed from hemoglobin, a principal component of red blood cells. Bilirubin is excreted in bile, and its levels are elevated in certain diseases....
 (C33H36N4O6) by biliverdin reductase
Biliverdin reductase

Biliverdin reductase is an enzyme that converts biliverdin to bilirubin, converting a double-bond between the second and third pyrrole ring into a single-bond....
 in macrophages of the reticuloendothelial system
Reticuloendothelial system

The reticuloendothelial system , part of the immune system, consists of the phagocytosis cells located in reticular connective tissue, primarily monocytes and macrophages....
. The changing color of a bruise
Bruise

A bruise, also called a contusion, is an injury to biological tissue in which the capillary are damaged, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding tissue....
 from deep purple to yellow over time is a graphical indicator of this reaction, it is supposedly degraded by ultraviolet light (UV) and this can speed the disappearance of an unsightly bruise.

Biliverdin is also responsible for the characteristic color of bile
Bile

Bile or gall is a bitter yellow or green fluid secreted by hepatocytes from the liver of most vertebrates. In many species, bile is stored in the gallbladder between meals and upon eating is discharged into the duodenum where the bile aids the process of digestion of lipids....
 juice which is secreted by the liver
Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
. This is why jaundiced yellow skin and the whites of eyes is characteristic of liver failure. It is often present in newborn infants as their liver is not yet developed for their body size, it could also be because the mothers liver has been doing this job while the umbilical chord was attached.

The green-blooded skink
Skink

Skinks are the most diverse group of lizards. They comprise the family Scincidae which shares the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae ....
s of the genus Prasinohaema
Prasinohaema

Prasinohaema is a genus of skinks characterized by having green blood. This condition is caused by an excess buildup of the bile pigment biliverdin....
 possess such high levels of biliverdin in their blood that their tissues are colored a bright green; such a concentration would be toxic to any other species. The Cambodian frog, Chiromantis samkosensis
Chiromantis samkosensis

Chiromantis samkosensis is a moss frog, found in Cambodia in the Cardamom Mountains. It was first described in 2007....
 also exhibits this character along with turquoise bones.

See also

  • Tetrapyrroles


Links

- Jaundice in newborn