Reactions between a carotenoid, fucoxanthin and 1,1-diphenyl-2picrylhydrazyl were investigated both under anoxic and aerobic conditions. Fucoxanthin equimolarly reacted with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl under anoxic conditions. Under aerobic conditions, only a part of fucoxanthin consumed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and the degree of reaction fluctuated with repeated trials. [3-Carotene or other carotenoids, [~-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, licopen and lutein, were also examined in the reaction with 1,1diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl under anoxic conditions. All these compounds scarcely reacted with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl.Key Words: fucoxanthin /carotenoids / antioxidant / 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl / anoxic conditions Polyunsaturated fatty acids are reported to share more than 30% of total fatty acids in diatoms or brown algae. The crude extract of a diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, was demonstrated to have antioxidant activity against the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids [1]. We previously identified the antioxidant substance in the crude extract as fucoxanthin [2]. Fucoxanthin is known to be one of the carotenoids contained in Chromophyta, diatoms and brown algae, of which the distinctive feature is the presence of allene bond and oxygenic Abbreviation DPPH, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl

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