Variegatorubin is a

pulvinic acid Pulvinic acids are natural chemical pigments found in some lichens, derived biosynthetically from the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine, via dimerization and oxidative ring-cleavage of aryl pyruvic acids, a process that also produ ...

derivative. It is a red

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

that is present in many members of the

Boletales The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. ...

, an order of the division Basidiomycota. It is generated from the

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...

variegatic acid Variegatic acid (3,3',4,4'-tetrahydroxypulvinic acid) is an orange pigment found in some mushrooms. It is responsible for the bluing reaction seen in many bolete mushrooms when they are injured. When mushroom tissue containing variegatic acid is e ...

Bolete {{refimprove, date=July 2020 A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungal fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique mushroom cap. The cap is clearly different from the stem. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surf ...

species that contain variegatorubin include '' Neoboletus luridiformis'', ''

Chalciporus piperatus ''Chalciporus piperatus'', commonly known as the peppery bolete, is a small pored mushroom of the family Boletaceae found in mixed woodland in Europe and North America. It has been recorded under introduced trees in Brazil, and has become n ...

'', '' Rhizopogon roseolus'', '' Exsudoporus frostii'', '' Suillellus luridus'', ''

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus ''Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus'' is a species of bolete in the family Boletaceae, native to Europe. Previously known as ''Boletus rhodoxanthus'', it was transferred in 2014 to the newly erected genus ''Rubroboletus'', based on DNA data. It produce ...

'', and '' R. satanas''. Variegatorubin was discovered by

Wolfgang Steglich Wolfgang Steglich (born 12 August 1933) is a German chemist . Life Wolfgang Steglich was born in Kamenz and studied chemistry at the Technical University of Berlin and later at the Technical University of Munich where he received his PhD in 19 ...

and colleagues, and described as a new compound in 1970.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite book , author1=Gill, M. , author2=Steglich, W. , title=Pigments of Fungi (Macromycetes) , series=Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products , volume=51 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pvTnCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA35 , year=2012 , publisher=Springer Science & Business Media , isbn=978-3-7091-6971-1 , pages=1–297 (see p. 35) {{cite journal , author1=Steglich, W. , author2=Furtner, W. , author3=Prox, A. , title=Variegatorubin, an oxidation product of variegatic acid from ''Suillus piperatus'' (Bull. ex Fr.) O. Kuntze and other Boletaceae , journal=Zeitschrift für Naturforschung B , volume=5 , year=1970 , page=557, doi=10.1515/znb-1970-0529 , s2cid=95770276 , doi-access=free Biological pigments Polyphenols Lactones