Isolation and structure of hematoside-type ganglioside from the starfish Linckia laevigata.

A hematoside-type ganglioside, LLG-1 (1), has been obtained from the polar lipid fraction of the chloroform/methanol extract of the starfish Linckia laevigata. The structure of the ganglioside has been determined on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence as 1-O-[N-glycolyl-alpha-D-neuraminosyl-(2-->3)-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-ceramide. The ceramide moiety was composed of heterogeneous 2-hydroxy fatty acid and phytosphingosine units. This is the first report on the isolation and structure elucidation of naked hematoside-type ganglioside from echinoderms.