DETERMINATION OF THE PHOSPHOLIPID AND SPHINGOLIPID CONTENT IN THE FECES OF UNINFECTED BALB/c MICE AND THOSE INFECTED WITH ECHI

High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) was used to determine the phospholipid and sphingolipid profiles in the feces of BALB/c mice infected with Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda) versus uninfected controls. Lipids extracted from fecal samples with chloroform-methanol, 2:1, were separated on silica gel HPTLC plates developed in chloroformmethanol-water, 65:25:4. Densitometric analysis of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanol-amine, and cerebroside zones was performed to compare infected versus uninfected profiles. No significant changes were found in the phospholipid or sphingolipid profiles in the feces of mice at 1 to 7 weeks post infection compared to matched uninfected controls. Although, our findings suggest that fecal polar lipids are not useful biological markers to distinguish E. caproni infections in mice from uninfected controls, the new data presented are important for future comparison in future studies involving feces from mice with heavier levels of infection and urine from infected versus uninfected mice.