Lipid Composition of Various Tissues of Lepidocybium flavobrunneum

Abstract

The lipid composition of the various tissues (muscle, intestine, pyloric caecum, liver, heart, kidney, ovary and intestinal content) of Lepidocybium flavobrunneum (of Acinaceidae=Gempyridae, termed “Aburasokomutsu” in Japanese, and known as one of the fish containing large amounts of wax esters in the muscle lipid) was examined.The muscle, pyloric caecum and liver contained large amounts of lipid. The lipids of muscle, pyloric caecum, intestine and intestinal content contained large amounts of unsaponifiable matter (high unsap. tissue), whereas lipids of the heart, kidney, ovary and liver contained only small amounts (low unsap. tissue). In particular, liver lipid contained only 3.5%.
The lipid of high unsap. tissue was predominantly wax esters and the unsaponifiable matter was fatty alcohols. The specific distribution of wax esters was shown among various tissues. The 18 : 1 fatty acid was the major fatty acid component in wax ester fraction of various tissues, but 16 : 0 and 22 : 6 fatty acids amounted to a comparable percentage of 18 : 1 fatty acid in the other lipid fraction. The 16 : 0 and 18 : 1 fatty alcohols were the main fatty alcohol components in wax ester and free fractions. The lipid of low unsap. tissue (especially liver) contained large amounts of free fatty acid, which was supposed to be formed by hydrolysis of triglycerides during storage in a freezer.