The Detection of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester in Sterculiaceae

Abstract

This study introduces the Sterculiaceae plant family which are also called as malva nuts. They are utilised as the remedy against pharyngitis, tussis and constipation. Malva nut is a well-known plant, used in Thai traditional medicine as a cooling agent to treat fever, coughing and sore throats. The literatures mentioned that the Sterculiaceae extracts could function as antioxidative, antiulcer and would help in reducing body weight. The objective of this study is to investigate the constituents in the seeds extracts by using chromatography and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The NMR spectrum revealed that the isolated compound from the chloroform extract was a mixture of an aromatic aldehyde and a fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) component. Future work is encouraged to reinvestigate the extract and establish more extensive NMR data. It is hoped that this study could increase the knowledge about the phytochemistry of Sterculiaceae family which then could be added as the line of today's drug.