Phospholipids of Crambe amabilis

Summary

The phospholipid complex of seeds of the plantCrambe amabilis has been studied for the first time. From the combined phospholipids freed from carbohydrates three main components (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol) and four minor components (lysophosphatidylcholine, N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and N-acyllysophosphatidylethanolamine) have been isolated and characterized.

The position distributions of the fatty acids in the phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidylserine molecules have been determined by enzymatic hydrolysis with phospholipase A₂. On the basis of these results, their possible molecular compositions have been calculated. The compositions of the fatty acids esterified in the glyceride moiety and acylating the nitrogen atom in the N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine molecule have been established.