title: Isolation and chemical composition of the ceramide of the Candida lipolytica yeast.
abstract: Candida lipolytica yeast was grown batchwise on glucose medium. Ceramide was quantitatively isolated from sphingolipid fractions of total lipids by a combination of column chromatography and preparative thin-layer chromatography. Fatty acids and long-chain bases, obtained after acid methanolysis, were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. Fatty acid composition was characterized by predominance of fatty acids shorter than 20 carbon atoms (72.2% of total fatty acids) and by high concentration of fatty acids with 16 carbon atoms (43.3% of total fatty acids). The dominant fatty acids were h16:0 and 18:1. The major fatty acid with more than 20 carbon atoms was h24:0. Hydroxylated fatty acids quantitatively represented almost half of the total fatty acids. The ceramide contained an unusual long-chain base composition. Besides the well-known trihydroxy bases, 18- and 20-phytosphingosine, which is a common characteristic for yeast sphingolipids, a high proportion of more polar bases than the trihydroxy ones, was found. The structures of 4,5-dihydroxyicosasphinanine (1,3,4,5-tetrahydroxy-2-aminooctadecane) and 4,5-dihydroxyicosasphinganine (1,3,4,5-tetrahydroxy-2-aminoeicosane) were tentatively assigned to these bases. Their chromatographic properties were identical to those of synthetic bases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Medical Faculty, University of Rijeka, Croatia. rjasmin@mamed.medri.hr
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rupcić
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Marić
mesh_terms: D002175:Candida / Q000737:chemistry*; D002518:Ceramides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D002518:Ceramides; D005227:Fatty Acids