Abstract
Lipid alterations due to experimental intoxication by methyl mercury were studied in rat brain. The methyl mercury was administered perorally as a hydroxide bound to bovine liver protein. The lipids were separated by thin layer chromatography and the fatty acids identified by gasliquid chromatography. The lipids studied included free fatty acids, cholesterol and the main phosphatidylesters, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. The methyl mercury treatment resulted in an increase in total brain lipids and palmitic acid (16:0) in the free fatty acid fraction. This increase is interpreted as the cellular response to compensate for the loss of membrane proteins known to take place in the brain due to methyl mercury intoxication.