Kinetic changes in free ceramide and cerebroside during germination of black gram.

Free ceramide and cerebroside were isolated from black gram sprouts of all germinating stages.Free ceramide and cerebroside were found to increase during germination.The major sphingosine bases of free ceramide were 4-hydroxysphingenine and 4-hydroxysphinganine (trihydroxy type) while that of cerebroside was sphinga-4,8-dienine (dihydroxy type).A change in the component sphingosine base was that 4-hydroxysphingenine in free ceramide and cerebroside increased slightly after germination.The major fatty acid of free ceramide was a-hydroxylignoceric acid while that of cerebroside was a-hydroxypalmitic acid.Changes in component fatty acid were that a-hydroxylignoceric acid in both sphingolipids increased after germination.Since cerebroside was found in wheat flour for the first time in the plant kingdom by Carter et al.,1] sphingolipids have been found extensively distributed in plant tissues.Free ceramide and cerebroside are the usual components of the glycolipid fraction in plants, but there have not been manystudies concerning free ceramide.The kinetic changes of sphingolipids in plant tissues, especially, have not been examined so far.In the case of animal tissues, free ceramide is supposed to be a precursor of cerebroside due to their structural resemblance in components.