What is a sphingoid base?

Sphingoid bases (also known as long-chain bases) form the backbone of sphingolipids. Sphingolipids comprise a large group of lipid molecules, which function as the building blocks of biological membranes and play important signaling and regulatory roles within cells.

What is a Sphingoid?

Sphingolipids are a class of lipids containing a backbone of sphingoid bases, a set of aliphatic amino alcohols that includes sphingosine. They were discovered in brain extracts in the 1870s and were named after the mythological sphinx because of their enigmatic nature.

What are neurodegenerative diseases?

(NOOR-oh-dee-JEH-neh-ruh-tiv dis-OR-der) A type of disease in which cells of the central nervous system stop working or die. Neurodegenerative disorders usually get worse over time and have no cure. They may be genetic or be caused by a tumor or stroke.

What is sphingosine used for?

Sphingosine (d18:1) or sphinganine (d18:0) comprises the backbone of all sphingolipids. They and their phosphorylated derivatives are also important second messengers involved in functions such as cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis [81,85].

What are ceramides made of?

Ceramides are made up of a substance called sphingosine. Sphingosine is a chain of carbon atoms with an amino acid attached to it. It has different forms that bind to other fatty acids to form ceramides.

What foods contain sphingosine?

Sphingolipids are present in nearly all foods and their amounts vary considerably. Milk and dairy products, which provide a third of the total intake, are one of the most important sources of sphingolip- ids (Table 1). Dairy products followed by meat and fish, eggs, and vegetables (Vesper et al., 1999).

What foods contain ceramide?

These are our experts’ recommendations for rich food sources of natural ceramides:

  • Soy beans.
  • Eggs.
  • Dairy.
  • Brown rice.
  • Sweet potatoes.
  • Wheat germ.
  • Spinach.