在市场上买到的鲜虾都是青绿色的,但是煮熟后却变成红色,这是为什么呢?原来,这种煮熟了的虾外壳中有一种颜色鲜红的色素,叫虾青素。除了虾以外,螃蟹等许多甲壳类动物也用虾青素或其他色素来装扮自己,如有些小壳动物主要含有虫青素,有些蟹类体内含有蝶红素。这些色素都和胡萝卜素有类似的结构,是“虾兵蟹将”们所含色素的主要成分。 The shrimp bought on the market are greenish, but turn red when cooked, so why? Originally, this cooked shrimp shell had a bright red pigment called astaxanthin . In addition to shrimp, many crustaceans, such as crabs, also dress themselves with astaxanthin or other pigments, as some small shell animals contain mainly avidin, and some crabs contain butatins. These pigments have a similar structure to that of carotene and are the main components of the pigments contained in the shrimp crabs.