Unusual fatty acids in compositae: γ-Linolenic acid in Saussurea spp. seed oils

The plant family Compositae is known to produce a set of unusual fattly acids in their seed oil. Saussurea, a genus of the Compositae is less studied in respect to the fatty acid compsition of their seed oil. Only Saussurea candicans was reported to contain crepenynic acid (33%) as seed oil component. In continuation of our exploration of the portential of wild oil seeds, fatty acids in seed oils of seven Saussurea species (S. amara, S. salicifolia, S. lipschitzii, S. pseudoalpina, S. pricei, S. parviflora, and S. dorogostaiskii) growing in Mongolia a were investigated by means of capillary GLC on capiallary columns of different selectivity (Silar 5 CP and BPX 70). γ-Linolenic acid was found at levels up to 11% of the consitituent fatty acids of Saussurea spp. seed oils. This is the first time that γ-Linolenic acid has been found in members of the plant family Compositae. Moreover, the number, position and configuration of the double bonds in γ-linolenic acid and that of other fatty acids was additionally confirmed by silver ion thin layer chromatography and infrared spectroscopy. The occurence and distribution of γ-linolenic acid, which has found considerable interest for pharmaceutical and dietary use, may be of chemotaxonomical significance in the plant family Compositae.     

Unusual Δ5cis-fatty acids in seed oils of Cimicifuga species

A range of unusual fatty acids with cis-5-unsaturation had been reported in the seed oil of Caltha palustris. Seed oils of Cimicifuga spp. have now been found to contain the same unusual fatty acids as are present in Caltha, plus several other minor fatty acids to give a more complex and more unsaturated seed oil fatty acid pattern. The gas chromatographic fatty acid patterns found seem to be consistent and chemotaxonomically significant, because essentially the same pattern was found in several species of the genus Cimicifuga. These findings may shed a new light on the relation of Cimicifuga to Caltha, and to other genera in the plant family Ranunculaceae. The situation is illustrated by capillary GLC seed oil fatty acid methyl ester “fingerprints” obtained from Cimicifuga and Caltha, and is discussed in relation to other genera. The occurrence in nature of several of these unusual fatty acids, and their chemotax-onomic significance is discussed. The close relation of GLC fatty acid patterns of Caltha and Cimicifuga could indicate monophyly and/or their belonging to the same tribe or subtribe. These observations are not in accordance with the phylogenetic systematic schemes of the genera in this plant family as published by various authors.     

Preparative and scaled‐up separation of high‐purity α‐linolenic acid from perilla seed oil by conventional and pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography

α‐Linolenic acid is an essential omega‐3 fatty acid needed for human health. However, the isolation of high‐purity α‐linolenic acid from plant resources is challenging. The preparative separation methods of α‐linolenic acid by both conventional and pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography were firstly established in this work. The successful separation of α‐linolenic acid by conventional counter current chromatography was achieved by the optimized solvent system n‐heptane/methanol/ water/acetic acid (10:9:1:0.04, v/v), producing 466 mg of 98.98% α‐linolenic acid from 900 mg free fatty acid sample prepared from perilla seed oil with linoleic acid and oleic acid as by‐products. The scaled‐up separation in 45× is efficient without loss of resolution and extension of separation time. The separation of α‐linolenic acid by pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography was also satisfactory by the solvent system n‐hexane/methanol/water (10:5:5, v/v) and the optimized concentration of trifluoroacetic acid 30 mM and NH₄OH 10 mM. The separation can be scaled up in 180× producing 9676.7 mg of 92.79% α‐linolenic acid from 18 000 mg free fatty acid sample. pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography exhibits a great advantage over conventional counter current chromatography with 20× sample loading capacity on the same column.     

Isolation of a furan fatty acid from Hevea brasiliensis latex employing the combined use of pH‐zone‐refining and conventional countercurrent chromatography

Furan fatty acids are valuable and bioactive minor fatty acids that usually contribute <0.1% to the fatty acid content of food samples. Their biological role still remains unclear as authentic furan fatty acid standards are not readily available and thorough experimental studies verifying the relevance of furan fatty acids are thus virtually impossible. An efficient protocol for the isolation of the furan fatty acid 9‐(3‐methyl‐5‐pentylfuran‐2‐yl)‐nonanoic acid from hydrolyzed and centrifuged latex of Hevea brasiliensis was developed using countercurrent chromatography. A first run using pH‐zone‐refining countercurrent chromatography provided 48.4 mg of 9‐(3‐methyl‐5‐pentylfuran‐2‐yl)‐nonanoic acid from 210 mg latex extract in a purity of 95%. The purity was increased to 99% by means of one second run in conventional countercurrent chromatography mode. The Structure and purity of 9‐(3‐methyl‐5‐pentylfuran‐2‐yl)‐nonanoic acid were determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy.     

Analysis of the Dynamic Decomposition of Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Tocopherols in Commercial Oils During Deep Frying

The decomposition of unsaturated fatty acids and tocopherols in 10 commercial edible oils during deep frying was investigated. The dominant tocopherol in oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was γ-tocopherol, except for natural perilla oil (δ-tocopherol dominant), and the main tocopherol in oleic acid-rich oils was α-tocopherol. The PUFA-rich oils had higher tocopherol contents than the oleic acid-rich oils. Both the reduction rate of total unsaturated fatty acid (TUFA) and total tocopherol (TToc) were linear with frying time (t). The decomposition rate of TToc is faster than that of TUFA since the slope values obtained from fitting equations (Y?=?k t) k_TToc (1.520–14.483) were obviously larger than for k_TUFA (0.155–0.270). By establishing a dynamic decomposition index, unsaturated fatty acids and tocopherol in oils showed dynamic decomposition over multiple frying cycles. The obtained results showed that decomposition characteristics of oils are related to their fatty acid compositions.     

Solvent‐free method for the determination of lignin‐derived phenols in sediments

A solvent‐free method that uses headspace solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection is proposed for the determination of lignin‐derived phenols in sediments. The extraction and derivatization conditions for the simultaneous analysis of acetosyringone, acetovanillone, syringaldehyde, vanillin, ferulic acid, syringic acid, vanillic acid, p‐hydroxybenzoic acid, and p‐coumaric acid were optimized using a central composite design. After optimization, the best results were obtained with the following conditions: exposure of the polyacrylate fiber to the headspace with 60 μL of N ,O‐bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide as a derivatizing agent for 15 min and then extraction in the headspace of 100 mg of sediment (previously spiked with lignin‐derived phenols) for 35 min. The accuracy of the method was estimated based on recovery tests at two concentration levels and by comparison with a high‐performance liquid chromatography method reported in the literature. Based on the t‐test with a confidence level of 95%, no statistical differences were observed. The detection and quantification limits for the target compounds varied according to their characteristics: values at the microgram per gram level for nonacid compounds and milligram per gram level for phenolic acids, due to the lower volatility of the derivatives.     

Direct High‐Performance Liquid Chromatographic Enantioseparation of β‐Methyl‐Substituted Unusual Amino Acids on a Quinine‐Derived Chiral Anion‐Exchange Stationary Phase

A quinine‐derived chiral anion‐exchange stationary phase was used for the direct high‐performance liquid chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of the N‐protected unusual β‐substituted α‐amino acids, β‐methylphenylalanine, β‐methyltyrosine, β‐methyltryptophan, and β‐methyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroisoquinoline‐3‐carboxylic acid. The readily prepared 2,4‐dinitrophenyl and tert‐butyloxycarbonyl derivatives were well separated, and in most cases the separation of all four stereoisomers of these β‐methyl‐α‐amino acids could be obtained in one chromatographic run. The elution sequences of the enantiomers of the different derivatives were determined and revealed a dependence on the type of the N‐protecting group. In this context, the effects of different protecting groups (acetyl, tert‐butyloxycarbonyl, benzoyl, 3,5‐dinitrobenzoyl, benzyloxycarbonyl, 3,5‐dinitrobenzyloxycarbonyl, 2,4‐dinitrophenyl, and 9‐fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl) on the chromatographic behavior were investigated.     

Separation of high‐purity eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid from fish oil by pH‐zone‐refining countercurrent chromatography

The evidence for unique effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid is growing. Further understanding and exploration of their independent effects in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industry is calling for the more efficient separation techniques to overcome the equivalent chain length rule of fatty acids. In this study, free eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid were successfully separated by pH‐zone‐refining countercurrent chromatography for the first time. The different solvent systems and the influence of retainer and eluter concentration on the separation efficiency were investigated. A two‐phase solvent system composed of n‐heptane/methanol/water (100:55:45, v/v) was selected with 50 mM of trifluoroacetic acid as retainer in the organic phase and 40 mM of ammonium hydroxide as an eluter in the aqueous phase for the separation of 500 mg of free fatty acids from a refined fish oil sample. 79.6 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid and 328.3 mg docosahexaenoic acid were obtained with the purities of 95.5 and 96.9% respectively determined by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry after methyl esterification. The scale‐up separation of 1 g of samples from both refined and crude fish oil after urea complexation were also achieved successfully with a markedly increased concentration 150 mM of retainer, producing satisfactory yields and purities of targets.     

An efficient strategy based on liquid‐liquid extraction and pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography for selective enrichment,separation, and purification of alkaloids and organic Acids from natural products

This study presents an efficient strategy based on liquid‐liquid extraction and pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography for selective enrichment, separation, and purification of alkaloids and organic acids from natural products. First, an acid or base modified two‐phase solvent system with maximum or minimum partition coefficient was developed for the liquid‐liquid extraction of the crude extract. As a result, alkaloids or organic acids could be selectively enriched in the upper or lower phase. Then pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography was employed to separate and purify the selectively enriched alkaloids or organic acids efficiently. The selective enrichment and separation of five bufadienolide from toad venom of Bufo marinus was used as an example to show the advantage of this strategy. As a result, 759 mg of selectively enriched bufadienolide was obtained from 2 g of crude extract and the total content of five targets was increased from 14.64 to 83%. A total of 31 mg of marinobufagin‐3‐adipoyl‐l ‐arginine, 42 mg of telocinobufagin‐3‐pimeloyl‐l ‐arginine, 51 mg of telocinobufagin‐3‐suberoyl‐l ‐arginine, 132 mg of marinobufagin‐3‐suberoyl‐l ‐arginine, and 57 mg of bufalin‐3‐suberoyl‐l ‐arginine were all simultaneously separated from 500 mg of selectively enriched sample, with the purity of 92.4, 97.5, 90.3, 92.1, and 92.8%, respectively.     

Monohydroxy‐Substituted Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids from Swertia japonica

Fourteen monohydroxy‐substituted polyunsaturated fatty acids, including two new compounds, (9Z,12S,13E,15Z)‐12‐hydroxyoctadeca‐9,13,15‐trienoic acid ( 10 ) and (9Z,12Z,14E,16R)‐16‐hydroxyoctadeca‐9,12,14‐trienoic acid ( 13 ), and 12 known ones, i.e., 1 – 9, 11, 12 , and 14 , were isolated from the whole plants of Swertia japonica Makino , and characterized as the corresponding methyl esters 1a – 14a . Their structures were elucidated by analysis of the corresponding spectroscopic data, and the absolute configurations of 10a and 13a were determined by the Mosher‐ester method. The CD spectra (Table) of compounds 1a – 14a are briefly discussed. This is the first report on the isolation of monohydroxy‐substituted polyunsaturated fatty acids from the Swertia genus in Gentianaceae.     

Fatty acid content of three <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cistus</Emphasis> species growing in Turkey

The seed oils of Cistus laurifolius, C. salviifolius, and C. creticus were investigated for their fatty acids by employing capillary GC and capillary GC-MS. The results of this study indicated that palmitic, linoleic, linolenic, oleic, stearic, and behenic acids were found in all of these three seed oils of Turkish origin. In addition, an important polyunsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid, was the major fatty acid in all of these oil samples.Published in Khimiya Prirodnikh Soedinenii in No. 6, pp. 433–434, November–December.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Single‐step isolation of embelin using high‐performance countercurrent chromatography and determination of the fatty acid composition of seeds of Embelia schimperi

Embelin (2,5‐dihydroxy‐3‐undecyl‐p ‐benzoquinone) is known for its potent anthelmintic activity, but also for wound‐healing, antidiabetic, anticonvulsant, antitumour, anti‐inflammatory, analgesic, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antibacterial and antispermatogenic activities. A high‐performance countercurrent chromatography method was developed for the purification of embelin from an extract of the seeds of Embelia schimperi fruit. The optimized solvent system (n ‐hexane–ethylacetate–ethanol–water, 7:3:7:3) resulted in the isolation of 13.9 mg of embelin, directly from 100 mg of crude extract, in a single step within a short time (40 min). Although the compound appeared to be completely pure when analysed by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with photo diode array detection, the purity was established as ~90% by UPLC–mass spectrometry. Furthermore, we report the fatty acid composition of the seeds of E. schimperi fruit. Nine fatty acids were quantified from the fruit seed extract by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, with linoleic (46.4%), palmitic (21.5%) and oleic (19.6%) acids making up the largest proportions.     

Oxygenated Metabolites of n‐3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids as Potential Oxidative Stress Biomarkers: Total Synthesis of 8‐F3t‐IsoP, 10‐F4t‐NeuroP and [D4]‐10‐F4t‐NeuroP

A wide variety of metabolic products of polyunsaturated fatty acids is of paramount importance for improving our medical knowledge in the field of oxidized lipids. Two novel metabolites of n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, 8‐F_3t‐IsoP and 10‐F_4t‐NeuroP as well as a deuterated derivative thereof were synthesized based on an acetylenic intermediate. An original approach achieved lateral chain insertion of 8‐F_3t‐IsoP by a ring‐closing alkyne metathesis/semi‐reduction strategy together with a temporary tether.     

Analytical Characterization of Fatty Acids Composition of Datura alba Seed Oil by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

Methyl ester derivatives of fatty acids were analyzed for the determination of the constituents of Datura alba seed oil. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer was used for these analyses. Results delivered that there were saturated as well as unsaturated fatty acids in Datura alba seed oil. Total of 15 different fatty acid components were identified and quantified. Methyl linoleate was found in highest concentration (16.22%) among the identified analytes of interest. In addition methyl esters of Palmitic acid (6.59%), Oleic acid (5.41%) and Stearic acid (1.35%) were found. Concentrations of rest of the detected fatty acids were less than 1%. From the literature it appears that no such work has been performed for the determination of fatty acids in Datura alba seed oil.     

Fatty acid composition of some Astragalus species from Turkey

In this study, the fatty acid contents of some Astragalus L. (Fabaceae) species from Turkey were determined by GC and GC-MS techniques. The seed oils of Astragalus sp. (A. echinops Aucher ex. Boiss., A. subrobustos Boriss., A. jodostachys, Boiss. & Buhse., A. falcatus Lam., A. fraxinifolius DC.) contained linolenic (between 23–41.%), linoleic (23–37%), and oleic acids (8–19%) as the major components. Fatty acid composition of the studied Astragalus taxa showed uniform fatty acid patterns. Palmitic and stearic acids were the major saturated fatty acids in the seed oils. The amounts of unsaturated fatty acids were higher than saturated fatty acids. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 526–528, November–December, 2006.     

Fast Efficient and General PASE Approach to Medicinally Relevant 4H,5H‐Pyrano‐[4,3‐b]pyran‐5‐one and 4,6‐Dihydro‐5H‐pyrano‐[3,2‐c]pyridine‐5‐one Scaffolds

The general ‘on‐solvent’ PASE approach was found to be medicinally relevant for 4H,5H‐pyrano[4,3‐b]pyran‐5‐one and 4,6‐dihydro‐5H‐pyrano[3,2‐c]pyridine‐5‐one scaffolds. Ammonium acetate‐catalyzed multicomponent reaction of aldehydes and two different C–H acids in the presence of small amounts of EtOH results in fast (3 – 15 min) and efficient formation of scaffolds, promising for many diverse oriented medical applications.     

Separation of dietary omega‐3 and omega‐6 fatty acids in food by capillary electrophoresis

A lower dietary omega‐6/omega‐3 (n‐6/n‐3) fatty acid ratio (<4) has been shown to be beneficial in preventing a number of chronic illnesses. Interest exists in developing more rapid and sensitive analytical methods for profiling fatty acid levels in foods. An aqueous CE method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 15 n‐3 and n‐6 relevant fatty acids. The effect of pH and concentration of buffer, type and concentration of organic modifier, and additive on the separation was investigated in order to determine the best conditions for the analysis. Baseline separations of the 15 fatty acids were achieved using 40 mM borate buffer at pH 9.50 containing 50 mM SDS, 10 mM β‐cyclodextrin, and 10% acetonitrile. The developed CE method has LODs of <5 mg/L and good linearity (R² > 0.980) for all fatty acids studied. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of n‐3 and n‐6 fatty acids in flax seed, Udo® oils and a selection of grass‐fed and grain‐fed beef muscle samples.     

2H/1H Ratio Analysis of Flavor Compounds by On‐Line Gas Chromatography Pyrolysis Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (HRGC‐P‐IRMS): Benzaldehyde

Isotope ratio monitoring gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry of the ²H/¹H ratio by pyrolysis isotope ratio mass spectrometry (P‐IRMS) was used to analyze benzaldehyde originating from various sources. Based on the δ²H_SMOW value of an authentic reference sample determined with an elemental analyzer (EA), the range of reproducibility and linearity was checked. Correct (EA related) and reproducible data were obtained for sample amounts >0.6 μg benzaldehyde (on column). In another series of experiments, the influence of sample preparation, i. e. simultaneous distillation‐extraction (SDE) was found to be negligible. The following ranges of δ²H_SMOW values were determined for benzaldehyde using five types of samples, i. e. (i) synthetic (δ²H_SMOW –78 to –85‰, ex benzal chloride; +420 to +668‰, ex toluene) and ‘natural’ (including ‘ex‐cassia’) references (δ²H_SMOW –83 to –144‰); (ii) bitter almond oils (δ²H_SMOW –113 to –148‰); (iii) fruits (δ²H_SMOW –111 to –146‰); (iv) kernels (δ²H_SMOW –115 to –188‰); and (v) leaves (δ²H_SMOW –165 to –189‰).     

Resolution and isolation of enantiomers of (±)‐isoxsuprine using thin silica gel layers impregnated with l‐glutamic acid,comparison of separation of its diastereomers prepared with chiral derivatizing reagents having l‐amino acids as chiral auxiliaries

Thin silica gel layers impregnated with optically pure l ‐glutamic acid were used for direct resolution of enantiomers of (±)‐isoxsuprine in their native form. Three chiral derivatizing reagents, based on DFDNB moiety, were synthesized having l ‐alanine, l ‐valine and S‐benzyl‐l ‐cysteine as chiral auxiliaries. These were used to prepare diastereomers under microwave irradiation and conventional heating. The diastereomers were separated by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography on a C₁₈ column with detection at 340 nm using gradient elution with mobile phase containing aqueous trifluoroacetic acid and acetonitrile in different compositions and by thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) on reversed phase (RP) C₁₈ plates. Diastereomers prepared with enantiomerically pure (+)‐isoxsuprine were used as standards for the determination of the elution order of diastereomers of (±)‐isoxsuprine. The elution order in the experimental study of RP‐TLC and RP‐HPLC supported the developed optimized structures of diastereomers based on density functional theory. The limit of detection was 0.1–0.09 µg/mL in TLC while it was in the range of 22–23 pg/mL in HPLC and 11–13 ng/mL in RP‐TLC for each enantiomer. The conditions of derivatization and chromatographic separation were optimized. The method was validated for accuracy, precision, limit of detection and limit of quantification. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chiral differentiation of some cyclic β‐amino acids by kinetic and fixed ligand methods

Differentiation of β ‐amino acid enantiomers with two chiral centres was investigated by kinetic method with trimeric metal‐bound complexes. Four enantiomeric pairs of β ‐amino acids were studied: cis‐(1R,2S)‐, cis‐(1S,2R)‐, trans‐(1R,2R)‐ and trans‐(1S,2S)‐2‐aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acids (cyclopentane β ‐amino acids), and cis‐(1R,2S)‐, cis‐(1S,2R)‐, trans‐(1R,2R)‐, and trans‐(1S,2S)‐2‐aminocyclohexanecarboxylic acids (cyclohexane β ‐amino acids). The results showed that the choice of metal ion (Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺) and chiral reference compound (α‐ and β ‐amino acids) had an effect on the enantioselectivity. Especially, aromaticity of the reference compound was noted to enhance the enantioselectivity. The fixed‐ligand kinetic method, a modification of the kinetic method, was then applied to the same β ‐amino acids, with dipeptides used as fixed ligands. With this method, dipeptide containing an aromatic side chain enhanced the enantioselectivity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.