Glycosylceramides obtain from the starfish Asterias amurensis Lütken.

Complex lipids in the starfish Asterias amurensis were characterized and the influence of sphingoid bases on human colon carcinoma Caco-2 cells was also investigated. Lipid content of gonad and viscera were 3.3% and 6.8%, respectively, in wet basis. The main lipid class in gonad was ceramide monohexoside (CMH) while triglyceride (TG) was predominant in the viscera. The most abundant fatty acid in the polar lipid was eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5n-3), with the gonad and viscera samples having the highest proportion of 41.5% and 32.7%, respectively, of total fatty acids. Starfish internal organ contained enormous amount (0.7% in wet base) of glycosylceramide. Sphingoid bases of the glycosylceramide were mainly consisted of d22:2, d22:1 and d18:3. This sphingoid base exerted an apoptotic activity on Caco-2 cells. Thus, starfish could be used as a potential source of precious and useful complex lipids.