Abstract
The study was carried out to find significant lipid constituents of S.
schenckii, purified lipid extract was assessed, and the ecology of S.
schenckii was also studied. Phospholipids, triglycerides, and
cholesterol were the three major lipid constituents of S. schenckii
(77.9%). Other lipids (22.1%) were too few to be quantitated. 16
different types of fungi were isolated out of 120 samples processed; the
maximum isolations were of Aspergillus spp., the most typical
contaminant fungus. There was no particular correlation between the
fungus isolate and the type of sample or its collection site. The
pattern of various fungal isolates was almost identical irrespective of
the sample and place. None of the samples processed was positive for S.
schenckii. S. schenckii, though said to be a saprophyte, was not grown
in the 120 samples studied. The endemicity of the disease, however,
points towards the existence of the fungus in the area.