Fatty acid and dimethyl acetal compositions of phospatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in the reproductive organs of common squid Todarodes pacificus

Abstract

We analyzed the fatty acid and dimethyl acetal (DMA) compositions of phospholipid (PL) classes [phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)] obtained from the reproductive organs of male (testis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle and spermatophoric sac) and female (ovary, oviduct, oviducal gland and nidamental gland) common squid. The PL contents in the male and female reproductive organs were 0.45-1.94 and 1.25-5.88 g/100 g tissues, respectively. The prominent PL classes in the male and female reproductive organs were PC (39.1-54.5% and 59.8-77.0%, respectively) and PE (30.6-40.6% and 18.7-31.8%, respectively). The prominent fatty acids of PC and PE in the reproductive organs were docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), 16:0, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3), 20:1n-9, 18:0 and/or 20:4n-6. The percentage of DHA was higher in PC of male and female reproductive organs, while that of EPA was higher in the PE of both reproductive organs. The PE of male and female reproductive organs contained 18:0, 16:0, 16:1 and 20:0 DMAs, which derived from plasmalogen, especially 18:0 DMA was the richest (5.26% of total fatty acids and DMA) in the PE of the testis in all the organs tested. Consequently, these results suggest that the reproductive organs of male and female of the squid could be used as good sources for PC, PE, n-3 PUFA and plasmalogen.