Planta Med 2011; 77 - PH4
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282586

Composition of fatty oil of sea urchin eggs from Barents Sea

AN Shikov 1, I Laakso 2, ON Pozharitskaya 1, IN Urakova 1, VG Makarov 1, R Hiltunen 2
  • 1St.-Petersburg Institute of Pharmacy, 47/5, Piskarevsky pr., 195067, St-Petersburg, Russia
  • 2University of Helsinki, Faculty of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Biology, Viikinkaari 5E, FIN-00014, Finland

The regular sea urchin Strongylocentrotus pallidus is a widespread species in high-Arctic waters. However, little is known about lipid composition of sea urchin eggs from northern Barents Sea.

Sea urchin was harvested by divers in Barents Sea close to Murmansk (Russia) in November 2010. The eggs have been (or were) found to contain 20% (dry matter) total lipid fraction. Lipids were extracted from eggs with chloroform/methanol (2/1) by sonification in 30min. Bound fatty acids were esterified by sodium methoxide, and the methyl esters were analysed by GC using a DANI 3865 GC equipped with SP 2340, 60m; 0.25mm i.d. (Supelco, Switzerland) column. The oven temperature was programmed from 70°C to 130°C at a rate of 10°C/min, to 235°C at a rate of 2.5°C/min. Programmed temperature vaporizer (PTV) increased from 70°C to 235°C, and FID temperature was set at 235°C. Peak identification was based on retention order of known fatty acid compositions of marine lipids, pure substances and literature.

The study shows that sea urchin eggs are a rich source of omega-3 PUFA, especially EPA (20:5n-3).