ABSTRACT Biomphalaria glabrata serves as the vector for the medically important digenean Schistosoma mansoni. In a previous study, using two dimensional thin layer chromatography with area normalization densitometry based on relative scan areas of zones in sample chromatograms, Thompson reported that phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine were the major phospholipids in the digestive gland-gonad complex of B. glabrata and that there were no significant differences in their content 6 weeks postinfection with S. mansoni. In this paper we report results of a repeated phospholipid metabolic study 2-8 weeks postinfection using truly quantitative one dimensional high performance thin layer chromatography-densitometry with Analtech laned preadsorbent silica gel plates, chloroform-methanol-water (65:25:4.5 v/v/v) mobile phase and cupric sulfate-phosphoric acid detection reagent. Phospholipid identification was based on comparison of chromatographic migration of zones in samples and standards on adjacent lanes, and densitometry of each identified phospholipid was carried out on an absolute percentage (w/w) basis against individual standard calibration curves. Our qualitative and quantitative findings are compared with those of Thompson.
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