Exploring Phylogenetic Relationships between Hundreds of Plant Fatty Acids Synthesized by Thousands of Plants. more details ...
Abstract The compositions of the seed oils obtained by hexane extraction of three members of the Ficus genus of the Moraceae plant family was determined, namely Ficus nota, Ficus septica, Ficus ulmifolia. Linolenic acid is the most prominent fatty acid in the seed oils followed by linoleic acid, with these two fatty acid comprising about 75% of the fatty acids in the oils. The high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids coincides with high levels of these acids predominating among the fatty acids observed in various plant parts of other Ficus species. Besides the fatty acids, a variety of phytochemicals also found in other plant parts of Ficus species were observed in the seed oils, including squalene, pentacyclic triterpenes such as α-amyrin, β-amyrin and lupeol, as well as sterols such as cholesterol and γ-sitosterol, the former at unusually elevated levels. The levels of these phytochemicals vary from species to species and location of harvest, with F. ulmifolia showing by far the highest level of these materials and with α-amyrin, β-amyrin and lupeol being the most common, their amounts exceeding those of fatty acids for samples from one specific location. Surprisingly, low levels of macrocyclic alkanes in the range of C24-C30 were identified.
Citation

Authors: Knothe, Gerhard; Razon, Luis F.; de Castro, Maria Ellenita G.

Journal: Plant Physiology and Biochemistry

Year: 2019

Volume: 135

Page: 127-131

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URL:

DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2018.11.030

Plants
Genus Species Data Points
Ficus septica 11