Targeted lipid analysis of haemolytic mycelial extracts of Aspergillus niger

Ethanolic extracts of mycelia from Aspergillus niger (strain N402) grown in liquid media were observed to have haemolytic activity on bovine erythrocytes. This haemolytic activity decreased significantly during the time of growth (1-3 days). Moreover, when A. niger was grown on carbon-deprived medium, the efficiency of this haemolytic activity in the ethanolic extracts was much lower than when grown in carbon-enriched medium, and became almost undetectable after 3 days of growth in carbon-deprived medium. The lipid composition of these ethanolic extracts was analysed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry. This haemolytic activity can be mainly linked to the relative levels of the molar ratios of the unsaturated fatty acids and lysophosphatidylcholines.