High-performance thin-layer chromatographic analysis of neutral lipids in the urine of humans and BALB/c mice

HPTLC analysis has been used to compare neutral lipid profiles in the urine of humans and mice. Neutral lipids and ubiquinone were extracted from urine with chloroform-methanol, 2:1, and determined on silica gel plates with 19 lanes and a concentration zone that were developed with petroleum ether-diethyl ether-glacial acetic acid, 80:20:1. Separated zones were detected with phosphomolybdic acid reagent and quantified by visible mode slit-scanning densitometry at 610 nm. Specific detection reagents were used to confirm the identity of particular lipid classes. The studies confirmed the presence of free sterols, free fatty acids, and triacylglycerols in both human and mouse urine. Methyl esters were found in mouse hut not human urine. Hydrocarbons and ubiquinone were present in both human and mouse urine, but were not quantified. Similarities in the urinary neutral lipid profiles of humans and mice suggest that mice may serve as effective models for studies of the effects of infectious and metabolic diseases in humans.