Identification of vasopressor phospholipid in crude soybean lecithin

The vasopressor phospholipid in crude soybean lecithin was isolated by column chromatography on Sephadex LH-20. It represented 0.1% of crude soybean lecithin. The isolated phospholipid was identified to be lysophosphatidic acid by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of TMS-deacylated product and acetolysis product. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis favored the 1-monoacyl isomer over the 2-isomer. By enzymic determination with L-3-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, the isolated phospholipid was identified as 1-monoacyl-L-3-glycerophosphate. Gas chromatographic examination revealed that it was composed of a large percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. The activity of isolated lysophosphatidic acid was slightly less than that of synthetic 1-linoleoyl-L-3-glycerophosphate.