Three species of red marine macro algae (Rhodophyta) from the Indian Ocean were analysed for the occurrence of conjugated polyenes. The composition of different lipid classes in these seaweeds along with their fatty acid composition has also been reported. Analysis of lipid classes of these seaweeds revealed that both Acanthophora spicifera (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) and two species of Gracilaria, viz. G. edulis and G. folifera (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) were rich in glycolipids followed by neutral- and phospholipids. The fatty acid composition of these seaweeds revealed C16:0 as the predominant fatty acid in all three species. However, A. spicifera had significantly higher amounts of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and arachidonic acid (AA) as compared to negligible amount of these fatty acids in both species of Gracilaria. The red seaweed Acanthophora spicifera contained conjugated eicosapentaenoic acid (CEPA) and conjugated arachidonic acid (CAA) in all lipid classes except glycolipids.

A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method is described for the determination of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) and conjugated linolenic acids (CLN). Methyl esters prepared from purified lipid fractions of soybean oil were analyzed using HPLC system equipped with photodiode-array detector to detect peaks having maximum absorption around 233 nm and 275 nm. These peaks were concentrated by AgNO 3 -silicic acid column chromatography and reversed-phase HPLC.The structural analysis, of dimethyloxazoline (DMOX) derivatized methyl esters, using GC-MS showed the occurrence of 9,11-and 10,12-conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) and 8,10,13-, 8,10,12-and 9,11,13-conjugated linolenic acids (CLN). The comparison of these conjugated fatty acids with authentic isomers by HPLC revealed the presence of isomeric mixtures of CLA (cis(c),trans(t) or t,c and t,t) and CLN (c,t,t or t,t,c and t,t,t).Traces of 9,11-and 10,12-CLA (c,t or t,c) was found in crude oil. CLN isomers (8,10,12-18:3 and 9,11,13-18:3) were found to be forming during bleaching of soybean oil processing. 8,10,13-CLN and 9,11-and 10,12-CLA (t,t) were only found in soybean oil after deodrization step. CLN contents in commercial soybean oil varied from 387 mg/kg oil to 1316 mg/kg oil. Decreased level of bleaching earth and temperature resulted in reduced CLN content. Possibly, CLN would be derived from linoleate hydroperoxides formed during processing and storage of soybean oil.KEY WORDS: HPLC, CLA, CLN, soybean oil, lipid oxidation. 2Conjugated fatty acids have evoked increased interest due to the beneficial effects they afford in terms of human health. Among them, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has been researched and reviewed extensively in relation to its occurrence (1), metabolism and physiological effects (1-4). On the other hand, several researchers have reported the occurrence of various conjugated fatty acids including trienes, tetraenes and pentaenes in different plant resources from both terrestrial and aquatic enviroments.Conjugated linolenic acids (CLN) have been reported to occur in terrestrial plant lipids, especially seed oils. Important CLN from plant sources include α-eleostearic acid (9cis(c),11trans(t),13t-18:3), catalpic acid (9t,11t,13c-18:3), punicic acid (9c,11t,13c-18:3), calendic acid (8t,10t,12c-18:3) and jacaric acid (8c,10t,12c-18:3) (5).On another hand, Yurawecz et al. (6) only could find traces (up to 0.2%) of CLN in vegetable oils in their study of 27 oils for CLN content by UV measurement. The isomers were identified as α-eleostearic acid (9c,11t,13t-18:3), β-eleostearic acid (9t,11t,13t-18:3), and 8t,10t,12t-18:3. The possible mechanism for the formation of these CLN isomers involves linoleate oxidation, reduction of hydroperoxide to hydroxide, and dehydration (7,8). CLN exhibits less oxidative stability as reported by our previous study (9), indicating that CLN may influence oxidative deterioration of vegetable oils, in spite of being present in trace.Crude oil is refined by a series of processes to remove impu...

Moromi (the fermented mash) of ''mugi shochu'' that had been artificially contaminated with pesticides was distilled to elucidate the fate of pesticides in the distillation process. The pesticides residing in the distillate were quantified by liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Of the analyzed pesticides (249 compounds), 89% were not detected in the distillate, showing that the distillation process minimized the risk of pesticide contamination.

It has been reported that treatment with yeast cell wall extract (YCWE) induces PDF1 and PR-1 gene expression; these transcripts are important markers of plant disease resistance, though the detailed signaling mechanisms that induce these defense responses are still unknown. In this report, we found that YCWE treatment triggered rice cell suspension cultures to accumulate phenylalanine (Phe), cis-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA), 12-hydroxyjasmonoyle isoleucine (12OHJA-Ile), and azelaic acid (AzA). YCWE treatment also reduced endogenous triacylglycerol (TG) content. The addition of C-uniform-labeled oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids to the rice cell suspension cultures gave rise toC-uniform-labeled AzA. It was also found that YCWE treatment for Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in accumulations of OPDA, AzA, Phe, and camalexin together with enhanced resistance against Botrytis cinerea infection. This suggested that YCWE treatment upon plants may activate JA and AzA signaling systems to induce plant disease resistance.