Studies on the Oils of Basidiomycetes. IV.

Abstract

The properties of the oils of Polyporus and Auricularia and their compositions of fatty acid and unsaponifiable matter were studied. Those mashrooms were dried and extracted with ether. The oil-contents of the dried bodies were 0.84% (Polyporus) and 1.83% (Auricularia). The properties of the ether-extract were as follows; n20D 1.4667, I.V. 53.9 and unsaponifiable matter 25.6% (Polyporus), n20D 1.4773, I.V. 117.8 and unsaponifiable matter 22.4% (Auricularia). The mixed fatty acids were esterified to methyl esters with methanol and p-toluensulf onic acid. The esters were treated with mercuric acetate, then separated to saturated parts and unsaturated parts through silica gel column developing with benzene. The fatty acid compositions in each part were analyzed by gas chromatography. Acetone insoluble matters were obtained with the yields of 1.83% (Polyporus) and 1.62% (Auricularia). Those compositions coincided with lecithin, lysolecithin (Polyporus) and lecithin, cephalin, and sphingomyelin (Auricularia) on TLC. The unsaponifiable matters both were brown soft-solid. The sterol-percentage in unsaponifiable matters were 27.8% (Polyporus) and 49.3% (Auricularia), and Δ5, 7 sterol-percentage 11.0% and 31.7% respectively. The main sterols of Polyporus and that of Auricularia were considered as ergosterol and 22, 23-dihydroergosterol respectively from similarities of themselves and their acetate regarding to the melting point, UV and IR absorption spectra.