Cis-5-Olefinic Nonmethylene-Interrupted Fatty Acids in Lipids of Seeds, Arils and Leaves of Japanese Yew

Abstract

Fatty acids from the lipids of the Japanese yew Taxus cuspidata seeds collected at various districts all contained rich amounts of cis-5, cis-9-octadecadienoic acid (5, 9-18 : 2) (16.118.9%) with small amounts of 5, 9, 12-18 : 3 (1.83.4%) and 5, 11, 14-20 : 3 (1.02.8%) as cis-5-olefinic nonmethyleneinterrupted (NMI) acids. On the other hand, fatty acids from the neutral lipids of the arils and leaves contained appreciable amounts of 5, 11, 14-20 : 3 (leaves 8.1%and arils 1.2%) and 5, 11, 14, 17-20 : 4 (leaves 6.2% and arils 1.5%), but 5, 9-18 : 2was not detected or detected only in a trace amount in them. Fatty acids from the galactolipids of the leaves also contained small amounts of the NMI acids (5, 9, 12, 15-18 : 4 0.3%, 5, 11, 14-20 : 3 0.4%, 5, 11, 14, 17-20 : 4 1.8%), in addition to a large amount of linolenic acid (72.8%). The 5-olefinic NMI acids were generally more rich in neutral lipids than in polar lipids. The yew seeds showed nearly the same fatty acid composition during maturation.