Fatty Acid Content and Composition of Freshwater Planaria Dendrocoelopsis sp. (Planariidae, Turbellaria, Platyhelminthes) from the Yenisei River

Abstract

For the first time the fatty acid content and composition of freshwater planarian Dendrocoelopsis sp. has been studied in a station of the large Siberian River, the Yenisei. The dominant fatty acids were palmitic, oleic, eicosapentaenoic and docosapentaenoic acids. The characteristic feature of planarian fatty acid composition was that ω3 docosapentaenoic acid was 2-10 times higher than docosahexaenoic acid. The average content of ω3 PUFA in the planarian was significantly higher than that of ω6 PUFA, 7.20±1.21 and 1.22±0.22 mg/g of wet weight, respectively. The content of sum ω3 PUFAs which are essential for the nutrition of aquatic organisms of the higher trophic levels in the studied planarian was comparatively high.