Determination of Fatty Acid Composition of Spore Lipids of the Moss Polytrichum commune by Glass Capillary Column Gas Chromatography

Fatty acid methyl esters of Polytrichum commune spore triglyceride and mono- and diglycosyl diglyceride fractions were analysed by glass capillary column gas chromatography provided with a precolumn system. The composition of the fatty acids in the lipid fractions differed only quantitatively: the diglycosyl diglyceride fraction was characterized by a high content of C 18: 3ω3 (67.7%), and the triglyceride and monoglycosyl diglyceride fractions by about 35%. The monoglycosyl diglyceride fraction contained a high proportion of C 14: 0 (18.4%). In all fractions the content of polyunsaturated C 20 acids was low, ranging from trace amounts to 4.9%.