Lipid composition of the acidophilic alga Dunaliella acidophila. II. Molecular species of galactolipids

The galactolipids isolated from D. acidophila cells consist of monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (1.4% of the lyophilized sample) and digalactosyldiacylglycerols (0.6%). The fatty acid composition of the two classes is different: the major molecular species of monogalactolipids is 18:3/16:4, whereas digalactolipids are composed primarily of 18:3/16:2, 18:3/16:1 and 18:3/16:0 species. Large amounts of γ-linolenic acid have been isolated from both mono- and digalactolipids. Except for very small amounts, in the two classes of lipids, C16 fatty acids were found at sn-2 position and C18 fatty acids at sn-1 position of glycerol. © 1989