The red and orange pigments in this secretion account for its protective properties.
Abstract
Within a few minutes of perspiration, the colourless, viscous sweat of the hippopotamus gradually turns red, and then brown as the pigment polymerizes. Here we isolate and characterize the pigments responsible for this colour reaction. The unstable red and orange pigments turn out to be non-benzenoid aromatic compounds that are unexpectedly acidic and have antibiotic as well as sunscreen activity.
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References
Eltringham, S. K. The Hippos 8–38 (Poyser Natural History Series, London, 1999).
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Supplementary information
Supplementary Figure 1
UV-VIS spectrum of hipposudoric acid (JPG 23 kb)
Supplementary Figure 2
UV-VIS spectrum of norhipposudoric acid (JPG 24 kb)
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Saikawa, Y., Hashimoto, K., Nakata, M. et al. The red sweat of the hippopotamus. Nature 429, 363 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/429363a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/429363a
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