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A new resource of nervonic acid from purpleblow maple (Acer truncatum) seed oil.

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Abstract

In this study, the chemical composition of the oil extracted with petroleum ether from purpleblow maple (Acer truncatum) seeds was examined. It was found that the dried seed contained 46.6 percent oil, in which linoleic acid (33.9%), oleic acid (23.8%), and erucic acid (17.2%) were the major fatty acids. More importantly, the oil contained noticeable amounts of nervonic acid (NA) (5.8%) and vitamin E (125.23 mg/100 g), which is the most biologically active isomer. Therefore, the seed oil may be considered as a potential new source for natural NA and vitamin E. In addition, research on the application of the oil in the food, cosmetics, and medical industries was summarized.

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Purpleblow maple (Acer truncatum) is a plant belonging to the genus Acer. In ancient China, its Chinese name was Yuanbao. The tree is widely distributed in China from north of the Jilin Province to south of the Gansu Province and from south of the Anhui Province to the Kerchin Desert of Inner Mongolia. It is one of the main species of the red-leaf trees on Mount Xiangshan and in big cities such as Beijing. In the early 1970s, seeds of purpleblow maple were exploited for their edible oil; the oil content is high reaching 45 to 48 percent (Wang 2003). The cultivation technology, constituents, and medical value of purpleblow maple have been systematically studied through intensive research projects, The results showed that purpleblow maple has been developed and exploited as food and for use in medicine and chemistry. The fatty acids of purpleblow maple seed oil contain 5 to 6 percent nervonic acid (NA). Because only a few plant species contain NA, and the NA on the international market primarily comes from deep sea fish, purpleblow maple is considered to be a new sustainable resource for obtaining NA (Wang 2003),

NA, which is also called selacholeic acid, is cis-15-tetracosanoic acid, with a molecular formula of [C.sub.24][H.sub.46][0.sub.2] and a molecular weight of 366.6. Pure NA is a white solid under ambient temperature. It is a type of to-9 superlong-chain monoenic fatty acid and was first discovered in the nerve tissue of animals. The content of NA in nerve and brain tissue is relatively high and is important in the composition of biological membranes. It takes part in many special physiological functions that are connected to biological membranes (Wu 2001)....

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