| Abstract: | The lipid and fatty acid composition of six members of two closelyrelated genera of the Amaranthaceae have been studied usinga combination of chromatographic procedures. The total lipidsvaried between 16.95 and 9.75% dry weight. Of these amounts,the non-polar lipids (mainly triglycerides) represented approximately90%, while polar lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids) accountedfor the remaining percentage. A relatively high degree of unsaturation was found for all lipidsdue to the dominance of linoleic acid (about 50%). The storage,metabolic, structural, and nutritional functions of the differentacyllipids are discussed. |
