The misleading presence of glucose in lipid extracts from human liver

Lipid extracts of two out of three liver samples examined contained appreciable quantities of an apparent glycolipid migrating with a chromatographic mobility intermediate between a tetrahexosylceramide standard and sphingomyelin. The substance was subsequently identified as free glucose. Its presence in the lipid extracts was probably related to the high levels of endogenous carbohydrate in the samples. To prevent possible confusion with glycolipids, care should be exercised in the interpretation of chromatographic data when organs containing high levels of endogenous carbohydrate are being examined.