Comparison of lysophospholipid levels in rat feces with those in a standard chow.

Although lysophospholipids have attracted much attention due to their diverse physiological activities through their specific receptors, little is known about their metabolic fates in mammalian digestive systems after their ingestion as a minor food component. In this study, we analyzed five lysophospholipids in lipid extracts of a standard rat chow and feces of rats fed the chow by two-dimensional thin layer chromatography and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The most abundant lysophospholipid in the rat chow was lysophosphatidylcholine followed by lysophosphatidylethanolamine, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), lysophosphatidylinositol and lysophosphatidylserine (LPS) in an increasing order, but their concentrations were very low in rat feces. Among the molecular species of LPS in the chow, only saturated species were detected in the feces in significant amounts. In addition, several molecular species of LPA remained in the feces in variable portions (saturated > monounsaturated > polyunsaturated). These results suggest that a portion of ingested LPA and LPS reach the rat large intestine, affecting physiological colon functions.