Lipid constituents of oil bodies in the cultured shoot primordia of Matricaria chamomilla

Abstract

The oil bodies in the cultured shoot primordia of Matricaria chamomilla comprised 80% triacylglycerol, 5% diacylglycerol, 6% monoacylglycerol and 9% free fatty acids. Free sterols and steryl esters were minor components of the oil bodies. The lipid components in the oil bodies from the cultured shoot primordia were similar to those from seeds, flowers and leaves in the intact plants. Linoleic acid (18:2) and linolenic acid (18:3) were major components of fatty acid residue in the triacylglycerols in the oil bodies from the shoot primordia, whereas the content of palmitic acid (16:0) and stearic acid (18:0) was lower than that in oil bodies from the seeds, flowers and leaves of M. chamomilla. The free sterol composition varied only slightly between the oil bodies from seed or shoot primordia, but a greater variation was observed in the composition of the steryl esters, in terms of both the sterol and fatty acid moieties. The seed oil bodies contained a higher proportion of precursor sterols than those of the shoot primordia. As in the acylglycerols, linoleic and linolenic acids were the major fatty acids in the esters from shoot primordia oil bodies, whereas the steryl esters of the seed oil bodies contained a much higher proportion of saturated fatty acids.