Effect of varietal or subvarietal alterations on the high order compositeness status of fats from the same biological species. The glyceride structures of threeMyristica malabarica mace fats

Abstract

AbstractMace fats from three morphologically indistinguishable subvarieties ofMyristica malabarica and from the same geographical area were investigated for high order compositeness (HOC) indices (2,3) by the azelaoglyceride analysis technique (1). The fats had saturated acid contents of 36.5, 43.7, and 49.8% by molecules, and the differences in the component acid compositions were adequate to establish differences in the source of biological origin in all three cases. The subvarieties thus showed uncommonly large alterations in fat metabolism genes for any particular biological species so far reported.All three fats were of the GS3 nil type, and the GS2U values of the HOC indices were +1.9, +2.6, and +1.8 respectively. These differences were within the limits of experimental error, and all three fats showed the same HOC index in spite of large differences in component acids. Subvarietal alterations involving large changes in component acids can hence take place without altering the HOC indices.This is perhaps possible only if there are separate genes controlling HOC in the fat metabolism genes complex, and these are not necessarily affected in the same manner by factors which produce changes in the genes that control component acid compositions. HOC is thus seen to be a new and independent structural feature of natural fats, which, in the future, has to be considered along with theories of bio‐esterification to give complete explanations for triglyceride structure.