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Occurrence of high levels of tetracosahexaenoic acid in the jellyfish Aurelia sp.

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Lipids

Abstract

The FA composition of the pelagic jellyfish Aurelia sp. collected from off-shore Western Australia waters was determined by capillary GC and GC-MS, with confirmation of PUFA structure performed by analysis of 4,4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives. PUFA constituted 47.6% of the total FA, with the essential PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid (FPA), arachidonic acid, and DHA accounting for 34%. Of particular interest, the unusual very long chain PUFA 6,9,12,15,18,21-tetracosahexaenoic acid (THA, 24∶6n−3) was present at 9.3%, and the rarely reported 6,9,12,15,18-tetracosapentaenoic acid (24∶5n−6) also was detected at 0.8%. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of THA as a major PUFA in a pelagic marine organism.

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Abbreviations

AA:

arachidonic acid

DMOX:

4,4-dimethyloxazoline

THA:

tetracosahexaenoic acid

TPA:

tetracosapentaenoic acid

VLC-PUFA:

very long chain PUFA

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Marine Research, GPO Box 1538, 7000, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

    Peter D. Nichols

  2. School of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, 4811, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    Kathryn T. Danaher

  3. CSIRO Marine Research, Floreat, Western Australia, Australia

    J. Anthony Koslow

Authors
  1. Peter D. Nichols
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  2. Kathryn T. Danaher
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  3. J. Anthony Koslow
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Correspondence to Peter D. Nichols.

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Nichols, P.D., Danaher, K.T. & Koslow, J.A. Occurrence of high levels of tetracosahexaenoic acid in the jellyfish Aurelia sp.. Lipids 38, 1207–1210 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-003-1180-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-003-1180-z

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