Countercurrent distribution of inosol lipids of plant seeds.

The inositol lipids of plant seeds consist of phosphatidyl inositol, the phytoglycolipids, and a previously uncharacterized ceramide-phosphate-polysaccharide. These three species have been separated from each other and from the common glycerophosphatides by a series of simple countercurrent distributions, first as the naturally occurring Ca-Mg salts and subsequently in the Na salt form. The new ceramide-phosphate-polysaccharide is present in each of the four plant phosphatides examined (corn, soybean, flax, safflower). It is devoid of glucosamine but contains the other carbohydrate components commonly found in the phytoglycolipids. The basic structural unit of the new glycolipid consists of a ceramide-phosphate-inositol-hexuronic acid moiety to which the other sugars (galactose, mannose, arabinose) are attached. Flax ceramide-phosphate-polysaccharide has fucose in addition to the other sugars.