Composition and Distribution of Lipids in Different Tissues of the Arrow Squid Loligo bleekeri

Abstract

Lipid class, fatty acid, and glyceryl ether composition in different tissues of the male and female arrow squids Loligo bleekeri was determined.
In both sexes of this species, the livers had a relatively high amount of lipids, which were characterized by high quantities of triglyceride class. On the contrary, the lesser lipids from the muscles and gonads were low in the above lipid class but high in phospholipids. The unsaponifiable matters isolated from the tissue lipids contained remarkably high levels of sterols and minor amounts of glyceryl ethers and alkenyl types. The component fatty acids of the muscle and/or liver lipids were very similar in composition between both sexes, respectively. Few differences were found in the percentage of the component fatty acids between the lipids from the testes and ovaries. While the fatty acid composition of the muscle lipids was markedly different from that of the liver lipids, the former tending to be more polyenoic with abundant 22:6n-3 acid. Glyceryl ethers of the male and female liver lipids showed similar components: the most predominant constituent was chimyl alcohol.