A New Simplified Method to Measure Fatty Acid in Platelet Phospholipid from Diabetic Patients

• Published in: Juntendo Medical Journal Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 459 - 470
• Main Author: MATSUSHITA, KAZUKO
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: The Juntendo Medical Society 1984
• Subjects: arachidonic acid; diabetes mellitus; fatty acid; phospholipid; platelet
• ISSN: 0022-6769; 2188-2134
• DOI: 10.14789/pjmj.30.459

Phospholipids are the main components of the cell membrane, and fatty acids contained in them play an important role in performing cell functions. Therefore, if there were an easy method to measure cell membrane phospholipids and fatty acids, which are prostaglandin precursors, it would doubtless have various clinical applications. However, phospholipids are extracted and isolated by adding water as well as organic solvents. Moreover, at the time of TLC isolation, they are exposed to the air, thus resulting in the destruction of polyhydric unsaturated fatty acids because of peroxidation. In an attempt to prevent peroxidation, antioxidants are added. All the same, there is the need to use TLC in isolating those substances. Thus, the procedure for measuring phospholipid fatty acids is not only troublesome but also time-consuming; therefore, this procedure generally is not popular among clinicians. In an effort to make up for this shortcoming, the author has developed an easy method for isolating phospholipids without using water and exposing them to the air. By this method, the author measured the component ratios of platelet phospholipid fatty acids and their contents in 16 diabetics with a control group of six healthy subjects.This method was useful in collecting phospholipids, and the results of the measurement were as follows :In the diabetics, a significant increase was noted in the component ratios of lauric acid and arachidonic acid. From a quantitative viewpoint, too, there were significant increases in the concentrations of myristic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and arachidonic acid. There were also significant correlations between the fatty acid component ratios of palmitoleic acid and arachidonic acid and their concentrations.