Sphingosine (d14:1) is a bioactive sphingolipid that has been found in B. mori (silkworm), P. clarkii (crayfish), and A. aurita (jellyfish) extracts. It increases the germination rate of N. rileyi, an entomopathogenic fungus, with an EC50 value of 10.2 nM. Sphingosine (d14:1) inhibits protein kinase C (PKC) in vitro (IC50 = 7.3 mol%) as well as superoxide generation induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate in neutrophils and reduces growth of CHO cells (IC50s = 19 and 8 μM, respectively).
C2 Ceramide (d14:1 2:0) is a bioactive sphingolipid. Dietary administration of C2 ceramide (d14:1 2:0) (100 μM) induces lipotoxic cardiomyopathy via increasing diastolic and systolic diameter as well as reducing fractional shortening and the number of normal cardiac contractile events in Drosophila.