No abstract

To date, the monohexosylceramides present in the eukaryotic alga Euglena gracilis has not been reported. In this study, we extracted and purified a lipid fraction that eluted similarly to other reported monohexosylceramides. The structural determination of the lipid fraction revealed a monohexosylceramide ( m/ z = 889.5 and a loss of m/ z = 162), corresponding to the formula C54H99O8N having moieties corresponding to a monohexose (C6H12O6), a 9-methyl-4,8-sphingadienine (C19H37O2N), and a nonacosanoic acid with 2 double bonds (C29H54O2). This is the first report of the isolation of monohexosylceramides from E. gracilis and will promote its utilization in functional foods and cosmetics.