Extracts of acetone-dried powders from ischemic gerbil brain were examined for phospholipase A1 and A2 activities with phosphatidylethanolamine at pH 7.2. Ischemia was induced by bilateral ligation, and the animals were killed by immersion into liquid nitrogen. Bilateral ligation with ketamine as general anesthetic resulted in a rapid, transient increase in phospholipase A2 activity. The activity increased from 0.46 nmol/h/mg protein at 0 time to 0.82 nmol/h/mg protein at 1 min of ligation. Phospholipase A1 activity also increased from 0.7 go 1.3 nmol/h/mg protein within the 1st min. When Nembutal was used as anesthetic, the phospholipase activation was earlier, within the first 30 s. Similar results were found for ischemia induced by decapitation of Wistar rats without anesthesia. Bilateral ligation of the carotid arteries of the gerbil is known to increase the concentration of free fatty acids, particularly arachidonate. This increase is, at least in part, due to phospholipase A activation. As ethanolamine phospholipase A2 in brain does not require Ca2+ for activity, these results suggest that phospholipase A2 activation in ischemic brain results from a covalent modification of the enzyme.