Aegan Matthew V. Amican, Karen Gem B. Ares, Ruvie Ann A. Ballester, Mark Joseph S. Barcelona,* Katherine Carmen Isabel G. Calleja, Christelle Venus F. Capuno, Group 1, 2DPH, University of Santo Tomas
Abstract
Lipids are one of the major constituents of foods, and are important in our diet for a number of reasons. They are a major source of energy and provide essential lipid nutrients. This experiment determined the components of each eluents. Lipids were based upon their polarity using column chromatography. The eluents used were 9:1 mixture of petroleum ether:ethyl ether, 5% methanol in dichloromethane and dichloromethane:methanol:water (1:3:1). The results obtained were analyzed and it showed that the the lipids are eluted by increasing polar solvents. The lipids present in the crude extract were triacylglycerol, cholesterol and lecithin. The purpose of this experiment is to analyze the lipids present in the crude extract using thin-layer chromatography and column chromatography. Results showed that Lecithin was the most polar among the 3 eluted components.
Introduction
Lipids are molecules that contain hydrocarbons and make up the building blocks of the structure and function of living cells. Examples of lipids include fats, oils, waxes, certain vitamins, hormones and most of the non-protein membrane of cells. Lipids are not soluble in water. They are non-polar and are thus soluble in nonpolar environments like in chloroform but not soluble in polar environments like water. Lipids have mainly hydrocarbons in their composition and are highly reduced forms of carbon. When metabolized, lipids are oxidized to release large amounts of energy and thus are useful to living organisms. [1]
Cell membranes confer stability to cells and control entry or release of chemicals into or from the cell. Lipids serve as effective insulators and help in maintaining body temperature.
References: [2]Journal of Chemical Education http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed082p103Purification of Lipids from egg yolk [3]Voet,D.,&JudithG.Voet,C.W.(2008).Principle of Biochemistry thirdedition