Fuel oils from euphorbs and other plants

Fuel oils from Euphorbs and other plants. The increasing energy costs of finding petroleum, together with the sure knowledge that its supply is finite, has prompted us to seek other sources of liquid hydrocarbon for both fuel and material. We have turned to annually renewable plant sources such as seed oils, an obvious source, with palm oil as the most productive. Sugar cane used to produce ethanol is another fuel source already in use.
We have examined non-food plants which can be grown on marginal soil for their productivity, particularly the genus Euphorbia. All species of this genus produce a latex which can be converted into useful fuel and other material, including precursors for what might be a valuable anti-tumor agent. Euphorbias and other similar plants require repeated planting and harvesting of the entire plant, which constitutes a drain on the soil. Trees can be long-term sources for hydrocarbon-like materials with a single planting. Examples are: the genus Copaifera which can be tapped for sesquiterpenes, the genus Pittosporum which bears fruits rich in terpenes and can be harvested annually. Finally, there are algae whose oil productivity is already of interest.
It seems possible to modify genetically the terpene biosynthetic pathways in plants to improve both the quality and quantity of the oils produced from them.     

Absolute configurations of pittosporatobiraside A and B from Pittosporum tobira

The absolute configuration at C-12 of pittosporatobiraside A and B isolated from the leaves of Pittosporum tobira was determined to be S on the basis of the exciton chirality of their dibenzoate derivative. The structures of the two glycosides were thus established to be (1S,9S,10S,11S,12S,14R,16R)-12-[(Z)-2-methyl-1-oxo-2-butenyl]-6,14-dimethyl-2-methylene-9-(1-methylethyl)-15,17-dioxatricyclo[8.7.0.0^11,16]heptadec-5-en-13-one and (1S,9S,10S,11S,12S,14R,16R)-12-(3-methyl-1-oxo-2-butenyl)-6,14-dimethyl-2-methylene-9-(1-methylethyl)-15,17-dioxatricyclo [8.7.0.0^11,16]heptadec-5-en-13-one, respectively.     

The distribution of fatty acids including petroselinic and tariric acids in the fruit and seed oils of the Pittosporaceae, Araliaceae, Umbelliferae, Simarubaceae and Rutaceae

The fatty acid composition of the fruit oils or seed oils of Pittosporaceae (eight genera, 10 species), Araliaceae (two species), Simarubaceae (three species), and of one umbelliferous and one rutaceous species were determined by gas chromatography, argentation TLC and ozonolysis. In the Pittosporaceae, in which the major C₁₈ fatty acid of all species was either oleic acid (18:1, 9c) or linoleic acid (18:2, 9c, 12c), large amounts of C₂₀ and C₂₂ fatty acids seem to occur regularly. Petroselinic (18:1, 6c) and tariric (18:1, 6a) acids were absent. However, petroselinic acid was the major fatty acid in the Araliaceae and Umbelliferae. In these two families only small amounts of C₂₀ and C₂₂ acids were detected and tariric acid was absent. The Rutales contained relatively high amounts of trans-octadecenoic acids (18:1, 9t). Tariric acid was the major fatty acid in the two species of Picramnia (Simarubraceae), which also contained small amounts of petroselinic acid. The major fatty acids in Ailanthus glandulosa (Simarubaceae) and Phellodendron amurense (Rutaceae) were linoleic or linolenic acid (18:3, 9c, 12c, 15c); these species contained neither tariric nor petroselinic acid and the levels of C₂₀ and C₂₂ fatty acids were low. The appearance of schizogenous resin canals and polyacetylenes and the absence of iridoids and petroselinic acid allows the Pittosporaceae to be separated from the Rutales and Araliales and to be placed in an independent order, the Pittosporales. Arguments for a rather close relationship of the Pittosporales to the Araliales and Cornales (including the Escalloniaceae) are presented.     

Terpenes from pittosporaceae

The monoterpenes of the fruits of Pittosporum resiniferum and P. undulatum have been identified. The essential oil of P. resiniferum contai     

Cytotoxic farnesyl glycosides from Pittosporum pancheri

Bioassay guided purification of the ethanolic extract of the bark of New Caledonian Pittosporum pancheri Brongn. and Gris (Pittosporaceae) led to the isolation and characterization of two new farnesyl monoglycosides, pancherins A and B. The structure of these compounds were determined on the basis of spectroscopic studies. The new compounds displayed a significant activity in the in vitro cytotoxic assay against KB cancer cell line, and pancherin A inhibits weakly farnesyl protein transferase.     

Evolution in Apiales: nuclear and chloroplast markers together in (almost) perfect harmony

Relationships within the angiosperm order Apiales have long been difficult to interpret. Traditionally, the order comprised two families, Apiaceae and Araliaceae. Recent studies, however, suggest three additional lineages should also be recognized in the order (Pittosporaceae plus two tribes segregated from Araliaceae, Mackinlayeae and Myodocarpeae), and that one taxon (Apiaceae subfamily Hydrocotyloideae) is polyphyletic. Nuclear data also support the placement of five enigmatic genera ( Aralidium , Griselinia , Melanophylla , Pennantia and Torricellia ) within an expanded Apiales. To date, detailed molecular studies of Apiales have relied largely on data derived from plastid sequences, especially mat K and rbc L. To test and complement the results of these studies, the 26S (large subunit) of nuclear ribosomal DNA was sequenced and analysed phylogenetically. Results from this study confirm that Apiales comprise five major lineages: core Apiaceae, core Araliaceae, Pittosporaceae, the Mackinlaya group and the Myodocarpus group. Moreover, using an expanded sampling of members of subfamily Hydrocotyloideae, the nature and extent of the polyphyly is confirmed, with members of this taxon found among four distinct clades within Apiales. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2004, 144 , 123–147.     

Triterpenoid sapogenins from leaves of Pittosporum undulatum

Three triterpenoid sapogenins were obtained on enzymatic hydrolysis of a saponin fraction from the leaves of Pittosporum undulatum. On the basis of     

Triterpenoid saponins from leaves of Pittosporum undulatum

Two triterpenoid saponins obtained from the leaves of Pittosporum undulatum were characterized on the basis of chemical and spectral evidence as a     

Composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils from invasive species of the Azores,Hedychium gardnerianum and Pittosporum undulatum

The compositions of the essential oils from the leaves and flowers of Hedychium gardnerianum and from the leaves of Pittosporum undulatum growing on San Miguel Island (Azores) were investigated, and the compounds were identified by GC-MS analyses. The oils in the leaves and flowers of H. gardnerianum were rich in alpha-pinene, beta-pinene and alpha-cadinol, whereas that from P. undulatum was found to contain monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes and alkanes, of which the sesquiterpenes, calamenene (41.4%), farnesol (10.9%), spathulenol (5.6%) and beta-selinene (5.2%) and the diterpene (8beta,13beta)-kaur-16-ene (10.7%) were the major components. Their potential antimicrobial activities were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and those with the highest activities against S. aureus and S. epidermis were from H. gardnerianum; none had activity against P. aeruginosa. Additionally, the essential oils from Pittosporum undulatum had good antithrombin activity whereas that from H. gardnerianum did not.