LIPID COMPOSITION OF HUMAN, BOVINE AND SHEEP PINEAL GLANDS

Abstract— —The lipid composition of human, bovine and sheep pineal glands was determined. No characteristic species difference was found in lipid content and composition. The total lipid was 2·9–4·0 per cent of wet weight of which phospholipid comprised 58–71 per cent and cholesterol 13·9–15·8 per cent in the three species. The phospholipid composition was 45 per cent phosphatidyl choline, 22 per cent phosphatidyl ethanolamine, 14 per cent sphingomyelin, 9 per cent phosphatidyl serine, 8 per cent monophosphoinositide, and 2 per cent diphosphatidyl glycerol. The major fatty acids found were C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C16:1, and C18:1. In contrast to other tissues, pineal sphingomyelin has a low C24:1 content. No significant amounts of polyphosphoinositides or gangliosides were detected. When its lipid composition is compared with that of a number of other tissues, pineal is found to be most similar to testes and unlike pituitary and brain.