linoleic-acid and pentane

A new method designed to monitor lipid peroxidation in plants has been set up with soybean hypocotyl/radicles. The hydroperoxy fatty acids present in situ are converted by rapid thermal treatment (80 s and 210 J g-1) of the biological sample into ethane and n-pentane, which are analyzed by gas chromatography. The method has been directly calibrated by quantification of the hydroperoxy fatty acids by silica-phase HPLC analysis of their reduced hydroxy derivatives. Hypocotyl/radicles from the two soybean cultivars Argenta and Soriano were submitted to various chemical oxidative treatments and were analyzed for both thermally produced volatile alkanes and hydroperoxy fatty acid levels. Our results showed that ethane and n-pentane production are in both cases closely correlated with linolenic as well as linoleic acid hydroperoxide levels (P < 0.001). Within a given plant material, thermal conversion of both hydroperoxides into alkanes occurred with yields which were not dependent on the oxidative treatment. These yields are however functions of the biological material since in Soriano and Argenta cultivars they were around 6 and 25%, respectively. Taking into account the last point, the alkane test cannot be used to directly quantify the absolute lipid hydroperoxide levels of plant tissues but it is convenient to monitor the peroxidative phenomenon as it occurs. The assay is easy and rapid to perform (analysis of 50 samples per day) since no sample preparation is needed, and the low detection limit (20 pmol of alkane g-1) permits the analysis of small samples.

Topics: Alkanes; alpha-Linolenic Acid; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Glycine max; Heating; Linoleic Acid; Linoleic Acids; Lipid Peroxidation; Lipid Peroxides; Pentanes; Plants; Seeds

Homogenates of semitendinosus muscle from malignant hyperthermia (MH)-susceptible pigs produced threefold more pentane than those from MH-resistant pigs, indicating enhanced free radical-mediated peroxidation of n-6 fatty acids. This did not reflect a deficiency in tissue antioxidants or antioxidant-enzymes but glutathione concentrations and glutathione peroxidase activities were increased in the tissue from MH-susceptible swine, consistent with an adaptive response to a sustained oxidant stress. A lower proportion of linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) in phospholipids and neutral lipids in muscle from MHS pigs indicated increased peroxidation or metabolism (desaturation and elongation). The increased oleic acid (18:1 n-9) in the MHS muscle indicated that desaturase activity was elevated in all lipid classes. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that enhanced free radical activity and lipid peroxidation contributes to the abnormalities in Ca2+ homeostasis and polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in MH.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Arachidonic Acid; Fatty Acids; Free Radicals; Glutathione; Glutathione Peroxidase; Linoleic Acid; Linoleic Acids; Lipid Metabolism; Lipid Peroxidation; Malignant Hyperthermia; Muscles; Oleic Acid; Oleic Acids; Pentanes; Phospholipids; Swine

It has been proposed that ethane and pentane reflect free oxygen radical-induced lipid peroxidation. However, methodological difficulties limit the use of these gases for assessment of free oxygen radical activity. In the present report we describe an improved method for the accurate analysis of picomole quantities (greater than or equal to 1 pmol) of ethane and pentane. They are first quantitatively trapped into an adsorbent and then heat-desorbed directly into a capillary column for gas chromatographic quantitation. During oxidation of linolenic (n-3) and linoleic (n-6) acid, ethane and pentane were formed, respectively. Nonstimulated granulocytes formed pentane. Upon addition of phorbol 13-myristate 12-acetate, the generation of pentane was increased by 540%. Addition of superoxide dismutase plus catalase inhibited lipid peroxidation in both a cell-free system and in isolated cells. The present method is useful in the evaluation of free oxygen radical induced damage.

Topics: alpha-Linolenic Acid; Cell-Free System; Chromatography, Gas; Ethane; Free Radicals; Granulocytes; Humans; Linoleic Acid; Linoleic Acids; Linolenic Acids; Lipid Peroxidation; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxygen; Pentanes