Characterization of N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine and acylphosphatidylglycerol in oats

Two polar lipid classes, both with three acyl groups, were isolated from an extract of oats and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, electrospray mass spectrometry (MS), and electron ionization MS (EIMS). Distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT) and the two-dimensional correlation experiments H-1-detected heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence spectroscopy, heteronuclear multiple bond correlation spectroscopy, double quantum filtered correlation spectroscopy, and total correlation spectroscopy provided sufficient information for determination of the structure of the two lipid classes. The polar lipid classes were found to be N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine [1,2-diacyl-snglycero-3-phospho-(N-acyl)-1'-ethanolamine; N-acyl-PE] and acylphosphatidylglycerol [1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(3'-acyl)-1'-sn-glycerol]. High-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization MS (HPLC-ESMS) and with electrospray ionization tandem MS (HPLC-MS/MS) were utilized for the separation and subsequent determination of molecular species. With HPLC-ESMS, ions of deprotonated molecules were obtained and with HPLC-MS/MS carboxylate ions (representing acyl groups) were obtained as well as other structurally significant ions. Fifty molecular species of N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine and 24 molecular species of acylphosphatidylglycerol were found, with a molecular mass range of 924-1032 Da and 959-1035 Da, respectively. Identification of the fatty acid isomers, as picolinyl ester derivatives, was done with gas chromatography with EIMS. Three isomers of 16:1 fatty acids were found in N-acyl-PE, and their double bond positions were determined to 6, 9, and 11 with a relative abundance of 4:10:1.