Abstract
The components of glycerolipids and cerebrosides were analyzed in the shoots of the halophytic plant Salicornia europaea, which is a member of the Chenopodiaceae and a potential animal feed in saline areas. Total chloroplast lipids, which include monogalactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyl diacylglycerol (DGDG), sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol (SQDG), and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), accounted for 69% of total glycerolipids, suggesting that the chloroplast membranes are well-developed even in leafless shoots. Estimated average numbers of double bonds per acyl chain (i.e., unsaturation indices) were in the order MGDG > DGDG > phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine > SQDG, phosphatidylinositol > PG. This result is similar to those for glycophytes. In the cerebrosides, the level of 4-hydroxy-trans-8-sphingenine was lower than that of the cis-8 isomer, whereas the proportion of trans-4, trans-8-sphingadienine was higher than that of the cis-8 isomer. These properties are consistent with the sphingoid base composition of cerebrosides in the leaves of the Chenopodiaceae glycophytes spinach and sugar beet. The results of this study indicate that glycerolipids and cerebrosides from the shoots of S. europaea present no insurmountable nutritional problems if used in livestock diets.
