Determination of n-alkane constituents and their phenological variation in the epicuticular wax of mature leaves of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L.

Abstract

The present communication is a first-time report on the analyses of n-alkane profile of epicuticular wax extracted from the mature leaves of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L. during a calender year. The composition of n-alkanes revealed hentriacontane (n-C31), tritriacontane (n-C33), tetratriacontane (n-C35) and nonacosane (n-C29) as the major constituents with tritriacontane (n-C33) being the dominant constituent. The cumulative percentage of these four odd-numbered alkanes also showed phenological variation being highest during the fruit ripening stage (average value 63.29%) followed by the flowering stage (mean value 60.74%). The values remained moderate on an average of 54.31% for the rest of the year. This study also confirms the xerophytic feature of the plant having higher proportion of longer carbon chain n-alkanes greater than C31 (dominant peaks are of C33 and C35).