Extraction of lipids from cottonseed tissue: V. Ultrastructural effects of extraction with hexane-acetic acid

Cottonseed tissue was extracted with acidified hexane (hexane containing 2–25% acetic acid, v/v) and then examined with an electron microscope. In all cases, the contents of the oil-rich spherosomes were emptied and cytoplasm remained intact after lipid extraction. However, membranous elements of the cytoplasm appeared diffuse and disorganized. The possible effect of this disorganization of membranes in accounting for the greater amount of lipid extracted by acidified hexane than by hexane is discussed. Presented in part at the AOCS Meeting in New Orleans, April 1973. ARS, USDA.