A novel natural compound, 11-hydroxy-16-hentriacontanone, has been isolated from the leaf cuticular wax of Annona squamosa along with its known isomer 10-hydroxy-16-hentriacontanone in a ratio of 67:33. This isomeric mixture of hydroxy ketones constituted together 16.5% of the total cuticular waxes. The new compound was characterised using spectral and chromatographic techniques. The major component was found to be 16-hentriacontanone (palmitone), which constituted up to 48% of the total cuticular wax, together with a homologous series of hydrocarbons, fatty aldehydes, fatty alcohols, fatty acids and sterols as minor components. The antimicrobial activity of the isomeric hydroxy ketones was tested against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains, and also some selected fungal strains, and compared with palmitone. The antibacterial activity of palmitone was significantly higher than that of the isomeric hydroxy ketones, but their antifungal activities were comparable.

The neutral lipid of desilked eri silkworm pupae (Samia cynthia ricini) grown on two different host plants, castor (Ricinus communis Linn.) and tapioca (Manihot utilizsima Phol.) leaves, was extracted with hexane. The oil content in pupae was estimated to be in the range of 18-20% (dry basis). The pupal oil was found to be enriched with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) with palmitic acid as the second major fatty acid. The level of ALA in the oil of silkworm pupae was found to be significantly higher (P < 0.001) when grown on tapioca (58.3%) as compared to those grown on castor (42.9%). Other chemical parameters such as percent free fatty acid, peroxide value, phosphorus content, percent unsaponifiable matter, and composition of sterols were also determined in both of the oils and compared. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of triacylglycerol molecular species showed that the pupal oil is rich in molecular species with equivalent carbon numbers (ECN) C36, C40, C42, C44, and C48. There was a significantly higher level (P < 0.001) of trilinolenin (C36) in the oil of tapioca-based silkworm as compared to castor-based silkworm pupae. Regiospecific analysis of the oil showed a higher level of ALA at the sn-2 position of silkworm pupae grown on tapioca (60.2%) as compared to those grown on castor (47.3%) oil. Thus, the presence of a large amount of ALA and their predominance at the sn-2 position make the eri pupal oil highly nutritious, provided that the oxidative stability is ensured.

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of structured triacylglycerol bearing ferulic acid as a phenolic acid at sn-1/3 position is described in the present work. Four compounds of varying chain lengths, namely 3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-phenyl)-acrylic acid-2,3-bis-hexanoyloxy-propyl ester, 3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-phenyl)-acrylic acid-2,3-bis-octanoyloxy-propyl ester, 3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-phenyl)-acrylic acid-2,3-bis-dodecanoyloxy-propyl ester, and 3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-phenyl)-acrylic acid-2,3-bis-9-octadecenoyloxy-propyl ester were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed by IR, NMR, and MS. Antioxidant activity of the structured phenolic lipids were evaluated using three different in vitro antioxidant assays such as 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH ) scavenging, antioxidant potency in lipid matrix using rancimat, and by the rate of inhibition of autoxidation of linoleic acid in micelles. Ferulic acid and dodecylgallate were used as reference antioxidant compounds. DPPH assay did not show any improvement in the antioxidant activity of ferulic acid with lipophilic modification. However, the antioxidant potency of the structured phenolic lipids measured by rancimat method as well as by the rate of inhibition of autoxidation of linoleic acid in micelle showed improvement in antioxidant activity compared to ferulic acid. This is probably due to better solubility of the synthesized phenolic lipids in a hydrophobic medium and appropriate anchorage in Tween 20 micelle. The observed activities of the structured phenolic lipids are comparable to dodecyl gallate in rancimat assay, but superior to dodecyl gallate in Tween 20 micellar system.

An efficient chemo-enzymatic synthesis of ferulic acid-based structured lipids mimicking triacylglycerol with a pendant phenolic moiety was carried out for the first time. Initially, ferulic acid was reduced to coniferyl alcohol, followed by its esterification with fatty acids. The key step in the synthesis was dihydroxylation of the olefinic side chain of coniferyl ester, which was eventually esterified with fatty acids to generate phenolic structured lipids. Two such compounds of varying fatty acid chain lengths were synthesized in good yield. Structural confirmation of both compounds is based on IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR, and MS techniques. The synthesized compounds were tested for in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Both compounds exhibited moderate to good antioxidant activity. The phenolic structured lipid with only shorter-chain fatty acids showed antibacterial activity. Both compounds did not show any antifungal activity.

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