Abstract
Esters of phytol or related isoprenoid acids and fatty acid esters of pentacyclic triterpenoid alcohols and sterols have been isolated from lacustrine sediments varying in age from contemporary to c. 50,000 years old. The esters were analysed by C-GC-MS and identified by GC retention data and mass spectral interpretation based on comparison with authentic compounds. In surface sediment of a productive lake, phytyl and steryl esters are biochemical markers of input from algal and Zooplankton sources. Esters of pentacyclic triterpenols detected in an older, peat-derived sediment may reflect constituents of peat-forming plant species. In sediments derived mainly from terrestrial organic matter, steryl esters containing the same acyl group showed a lower stanol/Δ 5-stenol ratio than did the corresponding free sterols.
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