Characterization of Inositol-containing Phosphosphingolipids from Tobacco Leaves

Abstract

A method for a large scale extraction of phosphoglycosphingolipids from the leaves of Nicotiana tabacum L. has been developed. The phosphosphingolipid concentrate consists of a dozen or more polar lipids as judged by thin layer chromatography. Two of these lipids were purified by chromatography on porous silica beads and partially characterized. These lipids are formulated as: N-acetylglucosamidoglucuronidoinositol phosphorylceramide and glucosamidoglucuronidoinositol phosphorylceramide. Although not fully characterized, the other lipids in the concentrate are inositol-containing phosphosphingolipids with a higher carbohydrate content.