Quantitative Analysis of Phospholipid Composition by Two Dimensional Thin-layer Chromatography Followed by Lipid Phosphorus Determination

A method for the determination of phospholipid composition was developed in collaboration with seven laboratories. The phospholipids were separated on two-dimensional silica gel thin-layer chromatography, using basic and acidic solvent systems in conjunction. The phosphorus content of each fraction was determined by colorimetry after digestion with perchloric acid. Five different conditions to develop this method were carried out using several phospholipid mixtures such as commercial soybean lecithin and egg yolk lecithin.The repeatability and reproducibility values determined from a statistical analysis of the results indicated that the determination of phospholipid composition by this method could be carried out to an acceptable degree of precision for the major phospholipid components of both commercial lecithins described above.