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Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Determination of Total Lipid and Lipid Classes in Marine Samples
Published on: December 11, 2021
Shoots and Turions of Aquatic Plants as a Source of Fatty Acids
Maciej Strzemski1, Lubomir Adamec2, Sławomir Dresler1,3
1Department of Analytical Chemistry, Medical University of Lublin, 4a Chodzki St., 20-093 Lublin, Poland.
Background:
Fatty acids are essential for human health. Currently, there is a search for alternative sources of fatty acids that could supplement such sources as staple crops or fishes. Turions of aquatic plants accumulate a variety of substances such as starch, free sugars, amino acids, reserve proteins and lipids. Our aim is to see if turions can be a valuable source of fatty acids.
Methods:
Overwintering shoots and turions of aquatic carnivorous plants were collected. The plant material was extracted with hexane. The oils were analyzed using a gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer.
Results:
The dominant compound in all samples was linolenic acid. The oil content was different in turions and shoots. The oil content of the shoots was higher than that of the turions, but the proportion of fatty acids in the oils from the shoots was low in contrast to the oils from the turions. The turions of Utricularia species were shown to be composed of about 50% fatty acids.
Conclusions:
The turions of Utricularia species can be used to obtain oil with unsaturated fatty acids. In addition, the high fatty acid content of turions may explain their ability to survive at low temperatures.
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