Extraction of Plant Lipids for LC-MS-Based Untargeted Plant Lipidomics

Lipids are defined as hydrophobic or amphipathic small molecules which consist of a number of structurally and functionally distinct molecules that span from nonpolar to neutral to polar compounds. Lipidomics is the comprehensive analysis of all lipids in a biological system. Changes in lipid metabolism and composition, as well as of distinct lipid species have been linked with altered plant growth, development, and responses to environmental stresses including salinity. Recently, improved liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based techniques have provided the rapid expansion of lipidomics research. Sample preparation and lipid extraction are important steps in lipidomics, and this chapter describes important considerations in lipid monophasic and biphasic extractions from plant tissues prior to untargeted plant lipidomics approaches with LC-MS.