Lipid composition of eggs of an oviparous lizard (Bassiana duperreyi).

Lipid analysis was performed on freshly ovulated eggs (n = 5) of the oviparous lizard Bassiana duperreyi. The fresh weight of the whole egg contents was 132.0 +/- 4.3 mg (mean +/- SE) of which lipid constituted 21.9 +/- 1.1% (w/w). Triacylglycerol formed an exceptionally high proportion (85.4 +/-0.5%, w/w) of the total lipid, whereas phospholipid, free cholesterol, cholesteryl ester, and free fatty acid, respectively, contributed 11.2 +/- 0.3, 1.4 +/- 0.1, 1.3 +/- 0.1, and 0.6 +/- 0.1% of the total lipid mass. Linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids were the major polyunsaturates of the triacylglycerol fraction, respectively, forming 16.3 +/- 0.1 and 8.3 +/- 0.1% (w/w) of the fatty acids. Linoleic acid was the major fatty acid (29.0 +/- 0.1%) of the total phospholipid, which also contained substantial amounts of arachidonic (6.4 +/- 0.1%) and eicosapentaenoic (3.0 +/- 0.1%) acids, but a relatively low proportion (1.6 +/- 0.1%) of docosahexaenoic acid. Phosphatidylcholine formed the major phospholipid class (73.8 +/- 2.3%) w/w of total phospholipid) and was enriched in linoleic acid, whereas phosphatidylethanolamine, which formed 20.4 +/- 1.9%(w/w) of total phospholipid, contained higher proportions of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids.