Investigation on Cyanolipid in Sapindaceous Seed Oils

Abstract

The content of cyanolipids in a variety of sapindaceous seed oils has been investigated. This new class of lipids is included in 37 percent of all oils except one.Long-chain fatty acids are hydroxylated with an unsaturated isoprenoid hydroxyl or with dihydroxynitrile in these cyanolipids, which come in four different forms. Though such acids are preferentially incorporated in nitrile-containing fractions, the large amount of C20-carbon fatty acids commonly contained in the oil suggests significant cyanolipid content. The cyanolipid component's fatty acid composition was also compared to that of triglycerides. S. obavatus seed oil was shown to contain a diester having two fatty acid moieties esterified with 1-cyano-2-hydroxymethylprop-1-ene-3-ol. Analysis of the NMR spectra has been used as a method for the measurement of the type and amount of cyanolipids in seed oils.