Cyclopropenoic fatty acids in gymnosperms: The seed oil of Welwitschia

Abstract

The seed oil of the gymnosperm Welwitschia mirabilis was found to contain malvalic acid, a cyclopropenoic fatty acid. This is in sharp contrast to most other gymnosperms, which contain Delta 5 cis-fatty acids as well as the normal set of fatty acids. The importance of this finding in relation to questions of the evolution of the Gymnospermae and Angiospermae, the two main branches of higher plants, is briefly discussed.