A comparison of the fatty acid composition of the phospholipid and neutral lipid of Unio elongatulus (Bourguignat, 1860) (Bivalvia: Unionidae) mussels from 4 different localities in southeastern Anatolia, Turkey

Authors: İHSAN EKİN, MEHMET BAŞHAN, RIDVAN ŞEŞEN

Abstract: The quantitative and qualitative fatty acid compositions of phospholipid and neutral lipid were investigated and compared for specimens of the freshwater mussel Unio elongatulus. Samples were collected from 4 different localities in Turkey: Çağçağ Brook in Nusaybin (Mardin), Fabrika Brook in Çınar (Diyarbakır), the Tigris River under the Sadi Bridge (Diyarbakır), and Kırkçeşme Spring in Sultanköy (Mardin). Phospholipids and neutral lipids of the mussels' whole tissues were fractionated by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and fatty acid analyses were done by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Both in the phospholipid and neutral lipid fractions, C16:0 (17.20%-22.17%), C16:1\omega7 (9.21%-15.31%), C18:1\omega 9 (12.21%-23.12%), C18:2\omega 6 (12.12%-16.10%), and C20:4\omega 6 (5.86%-13.10%) acids were found to predominate. The percentage of C20:4\omega 6 acid, a precursor of eicosanoids, was shown to be high in the phospholipid fractions. In the neutral lipids, total monounsaturated fatty acids (\SigmaMUFA) levels were determined to be higher than total saturated fatty acids (\SigmaSFA) and total polyunsaturated fatty acids (\SigmaPUFA) levels. In the phospholipid total, however, \SigmaPUFA levels were noted to be higher than \SigmaMUFA and \SigmaSFA levels. As is characteristic of freshwater mussels, \Sigma\omega 6/\Sigma\omega 3 ratios were found to be high in all lipid fractions.

Keywords: Fatty acids, Unio elongatulus, freshwater mussel, southeastern Anatolia

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