Phospholipid fatty acid composition of gorgonians of the genus Pseudopterogorgia: Identification of tetracosapolyenoic acids

The phospholipid fatty acid composition of the Caribbean gorgonians Pseudopterogorgia acerosa (Pallas), Pseudopterogorgia americana (Gmelin), Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata (Verrill) and Pseudopterogorgia rigida (Bielschowsky) is described for the first time. The main phospholipids identified were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine. All four gorgonians presented a similar phospholipid fatty acid composition. The main fatty acids were 16:0, 18:3(n-6), 18:4(n-3), 20:4(n-6), 22:6(n-3), 24:5(n-6) and 24:6(n-3). In all of the studied Pseudopterogorgia gorgonians, high amounts of the tetracosapolyenoic fatty acids 24:5(n-6) and 24:6(n-3) were identified. In the four gorgonians studied, n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids predominated. These results suggest that the occurrence of tetracosapolyenoic fatty acids in the Gorgoniidae is more general than previously recognized.