Molecular species of monoglycosylceramides in embryonic and adult Japanese quail intestine.

Molecular species of monoglycosylceramides from embryonic and adult Japanese quail intestine were separated without derivatization by high performance liquid chromatography and analyzed by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry. The reversed-phase chromatography on an octadecyl silica beads column separated the lipids by the difference in their ceramide moieties which contain considerable amounts of hydroxy fatty acids and 4D-hydroxysphinganine (phytosphingosine). The phytosphingosine and sphingosine in the ceramide moieties of the isolated monoglycosylceramide fraction gave characteristic fragment ions of (M - 162)H+ for the phytosphingosine, and (M - 18)H+ for the sphingosine components. The presence of phytosphingosine and hydroxy fatty acids in the ceramide moieties of the monoglycosylceramide early in the embryonic stage necessarily excludes the possibility of their exogenous origin such as bacterial flora and nutrients.