A simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for determination of major phospholipid classes in sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus is described. The separation was performed on a Tracer Extrasil SI 5 microm 25 x 0.4 cm column and an isocratic mobile phase of acetonitrile-methanol 85%-phosphoric acid (50:50:1.8, v/v). The HPLC method utilizes UV detection at 205 nm. Five phospholipids were identified and quantified: phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM). Fresh and canned samples were analyzed. Student's t-test showed no significant difference (P < or = 0.05) between the mean phospholipid contents of raw and canned sea urchin.