title: Neutral lipids, their fatty acids, and the sterols of the marine ciliated protozoon, Parauronema acutum.
abstract: The neutral lipids and their fatty acids and the sterol fractions of the marine ciliated protozoon, Parauronema acutum, were characterized. The neutral lipids consisted of triglycerides (30%), sterols (29%), free fatty acids (24%), steryl esters (9%), and diglycerides (8%) and small amounts of fatty alcohols. The fatty acid profiles of these lipids were very similar although quantitative differences were detected. Saturated fatty acids, primarily 14:0, 16:0, and 18:0 constituted 20-30% of the total. Unsaturated fatty acids containing one to three double bonds, primarily 18:1(9), 18:2 (9,12), 18:3 (9, 12, 15) and 20:3 (11, 14, 17), constituted 35-50% of the total. Highly unsaturated fatty acids, 18:4 (6, 9, 12, 15), 20:5 (5, 8, 11, 14, 17) and 22:6 (4, 7, 10, 16, 19), constituted 16-25% of the total. The fatty alcohols consisted of 14:0 (2%), 16:0 (66%), 18:0 (3%), 20:0 (8%), and 22:0 (21%). The sterols of Parauronema acutum consisted of cholesterol (53%), campesterol (32%), desmosterol (7%), and beta-sitosterol (8%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological, Chemical and Physical Sciences, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago 60616, USA. dsul@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sul
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Kaneshiro
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jayasimhulu
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Erwin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D016798:Ciliophora / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005233:Fatty Alcohols / Q000032:analysis; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D013261:Sterols / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D008055:Lipids; D013261:Sterols