Study on a special binding phenomenon of biliverdin in the blood of the eel, Anguilla japonica.

Biliverdin is bound firmly with a plasma protein in the blood of the eel, Anguilla japonica. The firm binding, although likely noncovalent, could be formed only in vivo under the experimental conditions. Characterization of the carrier protein indicated that it is a serum albumin. A similar phenomenon is not detectable in ten other fish species examined in this study.