LEAF EPICUTICULAR LIPIDS OF PRUNUS-LAUROCERASUS - IMPORTANCE OF EXTRACTION METHODS

Compounds of four chemical classes (alkanes, primary alcohols, free fa tty acids and polar lipids) were isolated, identified and quantified f or the first time from the epicuticular waxes of Prunus laurocerasus l eaves. Alkanes were the major class and constituted 80% of the wax. Us ing chloroform, more wax was removed from leaves after dipping for 210 sec than by rinsing for the same length of time. Duration of solvent contact also had an effect on the composition of the soluble cuticular lipids extracted. Alkanes and primary alcohols were extracted earlier than fatty acids and, whatever the class of compounds, short chain-le ngth homologues (C-16-C-25) needed more time to be extracted from the cuticle than longer ones (C-26-C-35). Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd