Chemical composition of the lipophylic extract from the tunicate Botryllus schlosseri.

Eighteen sterols were identified in Botryllus schlosseri, stanols being the main sterols. The sterol composition is in agreement with our recent paper on taxonomic separation of tunicates into three groups. Again we found in invertebrates of the Black Sea sterols with a (22Z)-double bond. This confirms the presence of such sterols in nature. The composition of the phospholipids appeared to be complex, and twelve groups of them were identified in Botryllus schlosseri. The main representatives of phospholipids appeared to be phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. Only four volatile compounds were identified, which is unusual for marine invertebrates.