Lipid composition of commercial bakers' yeasts having different freeze-tolerance in frozen dough.

The lipid composition of some commercial bakers' yeasts having different freeze-sensitivity in frozen dough was investigated to clarify the correlation between their lipid composition and freeze-tolerance. The total lipid content including neutral lipid, free fatty acid, sterol, and phospholipid ranged between 23.0 to 32.2 mg/100 mg protein of the yeasts tested. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidylserine were the main phospholipids found in all yeast strains, but no distinct difference in these components between freeze-tolerant and freeze-sensitive strains was observed. Palmitoleic (C16:1), oleic (C18:1), palmitic (16:0), and stearic (C18:0) acids were the major fatty acids present in total lipid and phospholipid, and unsaturation indices of fatty acid in these lipid components were almost equal by the strains. The molar ratios of sterol to phospholipid of freeze-sensitive strains were higher than those of freeze-tolerant strains. The difference in the sterol-phospholipid ratio that influences the fluidity of plasma membranes in yeast cells was supposed to reflect the difference in freeze-sensitivity of bakers' yeast.