Sex-Based Differences in Triacylglycerol and Phospholipid Subclasses of Gonadal Fatty Acids in the Freshwater Fish Capoeta Umbla

Abstract

The extraction and separation of polar, triacylglycerol (TAG) and phospholipid (PL) subclasses—phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylserine (PS), Lipid subclasses phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)— were carried out in the gonads to determine fatty acid (FA) compositions using gas chromatography. The major FAs identified in the ovary and testis were palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), oleic acid (18:1n9), arachidonic acid (20:4n6, AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n3, EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n3), and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n3, DHA). In the PL fraction, the proportions of saturated fatty acids (∑SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (∑MUFAs), and palmitoleic acid (16:1n7) were higher in the ovary than in the testis, whereas EPA, polyunsaturated fatty acids (∑PUFAs), and the n3/n6 ratio were higher in the testis than in the ovary. In the TAG fraction, ovaries contained higher levels of 16:0 and ∑SFA, whereas the testes contained higher levels of ∑PUFA. This result indicates that ovaries were more dominant in saturated fatty acids and testes are more dominant in polyunsaturated fatty acids. © ©2026 by Japan Oil Chemists’ Society.