The acyl lipid composition of wheat leaves and moss protonemata using a new, non-carcinogenic extraction solvent system

As chloroform has proved to be carcinogenic we were looking for an alternative solvent system for chloroform:methanol widely used in plant lipid investigations. The lipids from leaves of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. cv. Vakka) and from protonemata of the moss Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. were extracted with two petroleum ether:methanol solvent systems. The polar lipids were separated by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography and the amounts of each lipid class were compared with those obtained from chloroform:methanol (2:1, v/v) extractions. The significantly higher amounts of phosphatidylinositol observed in petroleum ether:methanol (1:1, v/v) extraction suggest that the small amounts reported earlier in plants may be an artefact relating to the solvent system used. As petroleum ether:methanol (1:1, v/v) proved to be at least as good a solvent system as chloroform:methanol (2:1, v/v) we propose it as an alternative extractant for plant polar lipids.