Comparative study of organic solvent and water-soluble lipophilic extractives from wheat straw I: yield and chemical composition

Abstract

The chemical composition of six lipophilic extractives from wheat straw by extraction with toluene-ethanol (2 : 1, v/v), chloroform-methanol (2 : 1, v/v), methyl tert-butyl ether, hexane, petroleum ether, and dichloromethane, respectively, in a Soxhlet extractor, and one water-soluble lipophilic extract has been examined. Five main lipid classes (free fatty/resin acids, sterols, waxes, steryl esters, triglycerides) were identified and their individual components quantified by gas chromatography as their trimethylsilyl (TMS) esters (free fatty/resin acids) and TMS ethers (sterols). The abundant saturated fatty acids were palmitic acid (C16:0), myristic acid (C14:0), and pentadecanoic acid (C15:0). Palmitoleic acid (C16:1), linoleic acid (C18:2), and oleic acid (C18:1) were the major unsaturated free fatty acids. Abietic acid was detected as the only single component in the resin acids. Of the sterols identified, β-sitosterol was found to be the major compound together with minor amounts of cholesterol, ergosterol, stigmasterol, and stigmastanol. Palmityl palmitate and oleyl palmitate were identified as the major components in waxes. The steryl esters analyzed were composed of steryl laurate, steryl myristate, steryl palmitate, steryl heptadecanoate, and steryl oleate. Tripalmitin, dipalmitoyl-oleoylglycerol, and triolein were the major components of the triglycerides.