EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE QUASIMEME LIPID INTERCOMPARISON - THE BLIGH AND DYER TOTAL LIPID EXTRACTION METHOD

The results of the QUASIMEME lipid intercomparison exercise were evalu ated in relation to the Bligh & Dyer (1959) total lipid extraction met hod. Most of the participants provided detailed information on their m ethods and a comparison was made based on the following parameters: dr ying temperature; subsampling; sample intake; solvent composition of t he extraction-and partition mixture; the use of a second extraction; m ixing method; and the use of filtration, Only a small number of labora tories applied conditions which conformed strictly to the original met hod of Bligh & Dyer (1959), Although these conditions mere originally specified for cod muscle tissue, they are applicable to mussel tissue as well, Some differences in the results could be attributed to deviat ions from the original method, but none of them were significant With the exception of subsampling. The latter resulted in significant diffe rences between laboratories that used the same extraction method, caus ed by an inappropriate compensation for the amount of organic phase ab sorbed by the tissue (Smedes & Thomasen, 1996). Copyright (C) 1996 Els evier Science Ltd