Fatty acids of monogalactosyl diglycerides from Citrus

Fatty acids in vesicular and leaf monogalactosyl diglycerides (MGDG) of citrus were studied. Vesicular MGDG contained front 94.4 to 97.3% C₁₆, C_16:1, C_18:1, C_18:2, and C_18:3; whereas leaf MGDG contained ca 90% C_18:3, 3% C₁₆ and 1.8 to 9.5% C_18:2. Species varied considerably in their percentages of vesicular C_18:2, C1_8:3 and to a lesser degree, C_16:1 and C_18:1 fatty acids with lemons being the most distinctive. Branched fatty acids were present to the extent of 5.6% in vesicular and to only 0.1% in leaf MGDG.