Extracts containing red pigment complexes from the two types of dry-cured hams, Italian Parma and Spanish Iberian ham, were obtained using water and acetone as extraction solvents followed by a crude purification with C 18 column filtration. The purified extracts were then analyzed spectroscopically by recording absorption and fluorescence spectra (lambda(ex) = 420 nm), which both indicate the presence of chemically identical red chromophores with properties similar to a complex of transition metals and protoporphyrin IX. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in the positive ion mode confirms the presence of identical chemical compounds. ESI-MS in the negative ion mode detects a cluster of seven isotopologue ions (that of m/z 623.2 as the most intense) with a pattern matching that of a Zn protoporphyrin IX complex. Based on mass spectral data it is concluded that a Zn-porphyrin complex constitutes a major chromophore in dry-cured Iberian ham as well as in Parma ham. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.752203210