New colorimetric method for the quantitative estimation of phospholipids without acid digestion.

A unique colorimetric method for the quantitative determination of phospholipids that does not involve the acid digestion of the lipid is described. The phospholipids, after separation by thin-layer chromatography and elution from the silica gel, are heated with a chromogenic solution that is a modification of a spray reagent formulated by Vaskovsky and Kostetsky (1968, J. Lipid Res., 9: 396). The absorbance of the colored complex was read at 710 nm, and it followed Beer's law in the range of 1-10 micro g of phospholipid phosphorus.