The phospholipid pattern of Tenebrio molitor larvae

Dorsamin-A's, glycerolipids carrying a dehydrophenylalanine ester moiety from the seed-eating larvae of the bruchid beetle Bruchidius dorsalis

Using a TLC autographic assay for radical-scavenging activity with the ABTS radical, the presence of lipophilic antioxidants in the larvae of the wild bruchid seed beetle Bruchidius dorsalis was detected. Assay-guided fractionation of the CHCl3-soluble fraction of the larvae resulted in the isolation of new glycerolipids, designated dorsamin-A763, -A737, -A765, -A739, and -A767, comprising 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-dehydrophenylalanine ester structural units. The ABTS radical scavenging activity of the dorsamin-A's was comparable with or stronger than that of Trolox.

Glyceryl ethers in insects: identification of alkyl and alk-1-enyl glyceryl ether phospholipids

Alkyl and alk-1-enyl glyceryl ethers have been identified in the phospholipids of three insect species, the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), the tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens), and the boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis). Glyceryl ethers were not detected in the neutral lipids. The ethers were found in the phospholipid fraction of whole insects and in isolated fat body tissue. The ether content varied among the three insect species, and fluctuated during various developmental stages. Gas liquid chromatographic analysis of the alkyl glyceryl ethers and aldehydes derived from the alk-1-enyl glyceryl ethers of the cockroach and budworm whowed striking differences in chain length. However, the hydrocarbon side-chain of the two ether fractions were similar in length for each species. Preliminary evidence indicates that 1-(14)C-acetate can be incorporated into alkyl ethers but not into alk-1-enyl ethers ofHeliothis pupae.