Formation of Volatile Esters in Strawberries

Aliphatic alcohols including methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, npropyl, isobutyl, nbutyl, isoamyl, namyl and hexyl alcohol were converted to their acetate, propionate, nbutyrate, isovalerate and caproate esters during the incubation with strawberry fruit tissue. Formate, isobutyrate and n-valerate esters were formed when alcohols were incubated together with these fatty acids and strawberry.

Seventy esters were formed from various combinations of alcohols and acids by means of incubation with strawberry.

No ester formation was observed when strawberry was homogenized.     

Epicuticular waxes of two sorghum varieties

The epicuticular waxes of the two sorghum varieties Alliance A and SD 102 have been analyzed, after separation of the leaf blades from the sheaths. The major constituents were found to be free fatty acids but small amounts of esters, aldehydes, alcohols, n-alkanes and sterols were also detected. The typical chain lengths of aldehydes, free alcohols and free fatty acids were C₂₈ and C₃₀.     

Lipophilic compounds in femoral secretions of males and females of the El Hierro giant lizard Gallotia simonyi (Lacertidae)

Many lizards use femoral gland secretions in reliable intraspecific communication. Based on mass spectra, obtained by GC–MS, we found 57 lipophilic compounds in femoral secretions of males and females of El Hierro giant lizards, Gallotia simonyi (fam. Lacertidae). Compounds included steroids (mainly cholesterol) and fatty acids ranging between n-C₁₆ and n-C₂₂ (mainly hexadecanoic and octadecanoic acids), followed by aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, squalene and waxy esters. There were important intersexual differences in the presence, abundance and number of compounds (more numerous in males). Males had higher proportions of the most odoriferous compounds (fatty acids and aldehydes), while females had higher proportions of more stable compounds (steroids, waxy alcohols, waxy esters and terpenoids). This suggests sexual differences in function of femoral secretions. In addition, some compounds could reflect the physiological state, allowing monitoring health of lizards from secretions samples, which is especially important given the critical conservation status of this lizard.     

The composition of external lipids from adult whiteflies,Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum

The total surface lipids, including the wax particles, of the adult whiteflies of Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum were characterized. At eclosion, there were similar amounts of long-chain hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols and wax esters. Within a few hours post-eclosion, long-chain aldehydes and long-chain alcohols were the dominant surface lipid components, C₃₄ on B. tabaci and C₃₂ on T. vaporariorum. Hydrocarbons, mainly n-alkanes, were minor components of the surface lipids. The major wax esters were C₄₆ on B. tabaci and C₄₂ on T. vaporariorum. The major acid and alcohol moieties in the wax esters of B. tabaci were C₂₀ and C₂₆, respectively, and of T. vaporariorum were C₂₀ and C₂₂, respectively. Both B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum had a minor wax ester composed of the fatty acid C_18:1 esterified to the major alcohols, C₃₄ and C₃₂, respectively. Bemisia were readily distinguished from Trialeurodes based on the composition of their wax particles and/or their wax esters; however, no differentiating surface lipid components were detected between biotypes A and B of B. tabaci.     

Identification of volatile flavour compounds obtained in culture of Kluyveromyces marxianus

When Kluyveromyces marxianus was cultivated on a defined medium, flavour volatile compounds accumulated in the broth. Besides superior alcohols and aldehydes, acids and fruit esters could be analyzed by gas chromatography and coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The predominant components are isoamyl alcohol, 2-phenylethyl alcohol and isobutyric acid with 180 mg/L, 400 mg/L and 290 mg/L broth, respectively.     

Seed Dormancy in Red Rice : VII. Structure-Activity Studies of Germination Stimulants

Many chemically dissimilar substances break dormancy of seeds, but the relationship between chemical structure and physiological activity is unknown. In this study, the concentrations of organic acids, esters, aldehydes, alcohols, and inorganic weak acids required to elicit 50% germination of initially dormant, dehulled red rice seeds (Oryza sativa) were determined. The activity of most substances was very highly and inversely correlated to lipophilicity as measured by octanol/water partition coefficients; chemicals with the highest partition coefficients required the lowest concentrations to elicit the germination response. Relative efficacy was also dependent upon the functional group; generally, monocarboxylic acids were more effective than aldehydes, esters, hydroxyacids, and alcohols. Relative hydrophobicity plots supported a modulating role of the functional group. Dormancy-breaking activity of methyl formate, formic acid, nitrite, azide, and cyanide was higher than predicted based on lipophilicity and apparently was related to molecular size; compounds with smaller molecular widths were required at lower concentrations to achieve the 50% germination response.     

Improved identification of monomethyl paraffin chain branching (close to the methyl end) of long-chain compounds by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

An improved method for the identification of monomethyl substituted paraffin chains (n?2, n?3 and n?4) by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry is presented. Fatty acids and sphingolipid long-chain bases were converted to their corresponding alcohols, which were analyzed as methyl ethers. These compounds were better separated on packed columns (XE-60) than other derivatives, and the low temperature of analysis minimized the bleeding of stationary phase into the mass spectrometer. Mass spectra of methyl ethers allowed a more conclusive identification of branches than of other derivatives. The method may be generally applied to fatty acids, aldehydes and alcohols.     

The fruit ripening-related gene FaAAT2 encodes an acyl transferase involved in strawberry aroma biogenesis

Short-chain esters contribute to the blend of volatiles that define the strawberry aroma. The last step in their biosynthesis involves an alcohol acyltransferase that catalyses the esterification of an acyl moiety of acyl-CoA with an alcohol. This study identified a novel strawberry alcohol acyltransferase gene (FaAAT2) whose expression pattern during fruit receptacle growth and ripening is in accordance with the production of esters throughout strawberry fruit ripening. The full-length FaAAT2 cDNA was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and its activity was analysed with acyl-CoA and alcohol substrates. The semi-purified FaAAT2 enzyme had activity with C1-C8 straight-chain alcohols and aromatic alcohols in the presence of acetyl-CoA. Cinnamyl alcohol was the most efficient acyl acceptor. When FaAAT2 expression was transiently downregulated in the fruit receptacle by agroinfiltration, the volatile ester production was significantly reduced in strawberry fruit. The results suggest that FaAAT2 plays a significant role in the production of esters that contribute to the final strawberry fruit flavour.     

A fatty acyl-CoA reductase highly expressed in the head of honey bee (Apis mellifera) involves biosynthesis of a wide range of aliphatic fatty alcohols

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are social insects which have remarkable complexity in communication pheromones. These chemical signals comprise a mixture of hydrocarbons, wax esters, fatty acids, aldehydes and alcohols. In this study, we detected several long chain aliphatic alcohols ranging from C18-C32 in honey bees and the level of these alcohols varied in each body segment. C18:0Alc and C20:0Alc are more pronounced in the head, whereas C22:0Alc to C32Alc are abundant in the abdomen. One of the cDNAs coding for a fatty acyl-CoA reductase (AmFAR1) involved in the synthesis of fatty alcohols was isolated and characterized. AmFAR1 was ubiquitously expressed in all body segments with the predominance in the head of honey bees. Heterologous expression of AmFAR1 in yeast revealed that AmFAR1 could convert a wide range of fatty acids (14:0–22:0) to their corresponding alcohols, with stearic acid 18:0 as the most preferred substrate. The substrate preference and the expression pattern of AmFAR1 were correlated with the level of total fatty alcohols in bees. Reconstitution of the wax biosynthetic pathway by heterologous expression of AmFAR1, together with Euglena wax synthase led to the high level production of medium to long chain wax monoesters in yeast.     

Availability of assimilates and formation of aroma compounds in apples as affected by the fruit/leaf ratio

Availability of assimilates in apple trees ( Malus domestica cv. Jonagored) was affected by removing young fruits to obtain 3 ranges of fruit/leaf ratios with average values of 130, 268 and 381 fruits per kg leaf dry matter. Fruit analyses were carried out at fruit harvest and 4 times during a 3-week ripening period. The analyses included detection of volatile aroma components from the juice by headspace gas chromatography. At a low fruit/leaf ratio, higher concentrations of total dry matter, soluble solid and titrateable acids were found. The flesh was also firmer, and ethylene development proceeded at a lower rate and reached a lower maximum value. Aroma compounds consisted of ca 20% esters, 73% alcohols and 6% C-6 aldehydes. The production of butylacetate and hexylacetate, which were the dominating esters, peaked during the ripening period and was most pronounced at the lowest fruit/leaf ratios. At the last sampling date this was also the case for butanol, which was the dominating alcohol. Other esters and alcohols behaved similarly, while C-6 aldehydes showed no significant differences in the fruit/leaf ratio. We suggest that the greater availability of assimilates when internal competition is relieved at a low fruit/leaf ratio causes increased accumulation of fatty acid aroma precursors and aroma compounds as well as of sugars, acids and other compounds in the fruits.     

Chemical Composition of Lipids from Peat-Forming Leafy Mosses of Eutrophic Swamps of Western Siberia and Altai

The molecular composition of lipids in three samples of leafy mosses (Aulacomnium palustre, Warnstorfia fluitans, and Calliergon giganteum) has been determined. The revealed acyclic compounds included normal and isoprenoid alkanes, isoprenoid alkenes, normal and isoprenoid ketones, carboxylic acids and their esters, alcohols, and aldehydes. Among cyclic compounds, bi-, tri- and tetracyclic polycycloaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bicyclic and pentacyclic terpenoids, steroids and tocopherols have been observed. The identified organic compounds consisted mainly of carbocyclic acids and n-alkanes with the prevalence of C₂₇ homologues. A. palustre is characterized by a reduced content of isoprenoid compounds, alcohols, and ketones, while the content of unsaturated acids, pentacyclic terpenoids, and aldehydes is rather heightened. A. palustre differs from W. fluitans and C. giganteum in the steroid composition and contains eremophylene, a sesquiterpenoid, which is absent in the mosses of the family Amblystegiaceae. Compared to C. giganteum, W. fluitans has a higher content of lycopadiene, carboxylic acids, n-alkanes, phyt-2-ene, aldehydes, esters, squalene, diploptene, α-tocopherol, and triphenyl phosphates.     

Microbial Oxidation of Gaseous Hydrocarbons: Production of Secondary Alcohols from Corresponding n-Alkanes by Methane-Utilizing Bacteria

Over 20 new strains of methane-utilizing bacteria were isolated from lake water and soil samples. Cell suspensions of these and of other known strains of methane-utilizing bacteria oxidized n-alkanes (propane, butane, pentane, hexane) to their corresponding secondary alcohols (2-propanol, 2-butanol, 2-pentanol, 2-hexanol). The product secondary alcohols accumulated extracellularly. The rate of production of secondary alcohols varied with the organism used for oxidation. The average rate of 2-propanol, 2-butanol, 2-pentanol, and 2-hexanol production was 1.5, 1.0, 0.15, and 0.08 μmol/h per 5.0 mg of protein in cell suspensions, respectively. Secondary alcohols were slowly oxidized further to the corresponding methylketones. Primary alcohols and aldehydes were also detected in low amounts (rate of production were 0.05 to 0.08 μmol/h per 5.0 mg of protein in cell suspensions) as products of n-alkane (propane and butane) oxidation. However, primary alcohols and aldehydes were rapidly metabolized further by cell suspensions. Methanol-grown cells of methane-utilizing bacteria did not oxidize n-alkanes to their corresponding secondary alcohols, indicating that the enzymatic system required for oxidation of n-alkanes was induced only during growth on methane. The optimal conditions for in vivo secondary alcohol formation from n-alkanes were investigated in Methylosinus sp. (CRL-15). The rate of 2-propanol and 2-butanol production was linear for the 40-min incubation period and increased directly with cell protein concentration up to 12 mg/ml. The optimal temperature and pH for the production of 2-propanol and 2-butanol were 40°C and pH 7.0. Metalchelating agents inhibited the production of secondary alcohols. The activities for the hydroxylation of n-alkanes in various methylotrophic bacteria were localized in the cell-free particulate fractions precipitated by centrifugation between 10,000 and 40,000 × g. Both oxygen and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide were required for hydroxylation activity. The metal-chelating agents inhibited hydroxylation of n-alkanes by the particulate fraction, indicating the involvement of a metal-containing enzyme system in the oxidation of n-alkanes. The production of 2-propanol from the corresponding n-alkane by the particulate fraction was inhibited in the presence of methane, suggesting that the subterminal hydroxylation of n-alkanes may be catalyzed by methane monooxygenase.     

Field desorption mass spectrometry of lipids. I. The application of field desorption mass spectrometry to the investigation of natural waxes

Field desorption mass spectra have been recorded of n-dotriacontane, n-tetracosanoic acid and hexadecyl hexadecanoate as representatives of long straight-chain alcohols, acids and esters respectively. Molecular or quasimolecular ions were formed almost exclusively with fragmentation at a low level.Mixtures of long chain compounds have also been examined and the components characterized as their molecular ions. These included a fraction of higher α-ω diols from hydrolysed carnauba wax, unhydrolysed carnauba wax and a previously uninvestigated wax from a Livistonia sp.Results have shown that field desorption mass spectrometry has a most promising role in wax investigation by the ready characterization of constituents up to molecular weights of 2000 and greater.     

Accumulation of l-Glutamic Acid from Dibasic Carboxylic Acids by a Hydrocarbon Utilizing Bacterium

In order to know the substrate specificity in a hydrocarbon utilizing bacterium, the following materials were examined: n-alkanes, n-alkenes, monohydric alcohols, aldehydes, monobasic carboxylic acids, dihydric alcohols and dibasic carboxylic acids.

It was found that dibasic carboxylic acids were well utilized, and a great deal of l-glutamic acid was accumulated from them. Then suberic acid, which is C₈ dibasic carboxylic acid, was compared with n-dodecane in the effects of thiamine, penicillin, C/N ratio and substrate concentration on l-glutamic acid accumulation and cell growth.     

Hexane soluble non-volatiles in flowering to fruiting stages of Fatsia japonica

The n-hexane soluble non-volatile fraction of the acetone extracts from the flower buds, the flowers and the immature and the mature fruits of Fatsia japonica were all found to contain fatty acids, fatty acid methyl esters, squalene, β-amyrin and sterols. At all the stages between budding to the mature fruit, the major fatty acids were palmitic and linoleic acids and the major phytosterol was stigmasterol. In addition steryl and β-amyrenyl esters were found in the flowers and the immature and the mature fruits, but these esters were not present in the flower buds. Sitosteryl ester was the major constituent of the steryl ester fraction in the fruiting stages. Phytol was found in only the flowering stage and triglycerides in only the mature fruits. The variations in the lipid constituents is discussed in relation to the stages from budding to the mature fruit.     

Lipid composition of copepodite stages and adult females of Calanus glacialis in Arctic waters of the Barents Sea

Summary The composition of lipid classes and their component fatty acid are described for copepodite stages III, IV, V, and adult females of Calanus glacialis sampled from Arctic waters of the Barents Sea during summer. Was esters were the principal component of the lipid in all copepodite stages examined, averaging 73% over all the stages. The proportion of triacylglycerols varied from 1.5% to 10.5% of total lipid among copepodite stages. The lipids of adult females contained lower levels of wax esters and higher levels of triacylglycerols than copepodite stages III, IV and V. Fatty alcohols of wax esters from copepods sampled in June and July were dominated by 20:1 (n-9) and 22:1 (n-11) alcohols with the proportion of 20:1 (n-9) increasing from stages III to adult female. 14:0 and 16:0 alcohols were the principal fatty alcohols of wax esters of a sample comprising mainly of copepodites stage III taken in August. 16:1 (n-7), 20:1 (n-9) and 20:5 (n-3) were the major fatty acids in the was esters of animals captured in June and July whereas 18:1 (n-9) predominated in the August sample. The polar lipids of the copepodite stage III from August also contained lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids than from all stages of copepods from June and July. The data are discussed in relation to life cycle strategies and trophic aspects of Calanus glacialis in the Arctic pelagic community of the Barents Sea.     

yatay椰子果实和果汁芳香成分分析

yatay椰子〔Butia yatay(M art.)Becc.〕原产于阿根廷、乌拉圭、巴拉圭及巴西南部,树干高3~6 m,直径约40 cm,羽状叶,叶柄两侧有齿状刺,雌雄同株,-7℃下能生存[1,2],属耐寒性椰子。果实黄色,秋天成熟,直径4~5 cm,能散发出强烈的香气;果肉酸甜可口,与柑橘和橙子味道相近。在巴西,yatay椰子除作为水果食用外,还可经发酵制成具有椰子香气的酒类饮料。除Rodenste in[3]曾经报道过yatay椰子果实的核与果肉的物化特性外,几乎没有关于yatay椰子的相关研究报道。为此,作者利用顶空吸附萃取-气相色谱-质谱〔HSSE(Head space sorptive extraction)-…     

果实香气形成及其影响因素

综述了苹果(Malus domestica Borkh.)、草莓(Fragaria ananassa Duch.)、香蕉(Musa paradisiaca)、甜瓜(Cucumis melon L.)和番茄(Lycopersicon esculentum L.)等果实香气的化学成分、主要合成途径及其影响因素.果实的香气物质主要包括酯类、醇类、酮类、醛类、萜类和挥发性酚类物质等,这些物质主要由脂肪酸、氨基酸和次生代谢产生.品种、成熟度、乙烯、环境和栽培措施(光照、砧木、套袋和灌溉等)以及采后贮藏条件均影响果实香气的形成.     

Availability of Energy in Esters of Aliphatic Acids and Alcohols by Growing Chicks

Biological availability of 106 esters of alcohols and aliphatic mono-, di- and tri-carboxylic acids and diethylene glycol succinate was compared by the mini-test with chicks. Chicks can utilize methyl esters of saturated fatty acids of carbon chain from 10 to 14, ethyl esters of those from 9 to 12, propyl caprate, n-butyl esters of those from 8 to 12, n-amyl esters of those from 6 to 12, n-hexyl n-butyrate and i-vaterate, and n-octyl and n-decyl acetates. Only 3 dicarboxylates, i.e. di-octyl and di-lauryl succinates and di-methyl cis-cyclopropane-l,2-dicarboxylate, were available among the dicarboxylates tested. Availability of ethyl esters of succinic, fumaric and citric, acid was unexpectedly low.