THE OCCURRENCE OF LONG-CHAIN POLYPRENOLS IN LEAVES OF PLANTS OF COMBRETACEAE FAMILY

The presence of poly-cis-prenols of chain length 20-60 isoprene units or longer in leaves of plants belonging to Combretaceae family was sho wn to be a common feature in this group of plants. The polyprenols of this type were found in half of the 20 species studied. In most cases the polyprenols occurred in the form of fatty acid esters. Only in one species - Combretum molle, the polyprenols were found in the form of free alcohols. The amount of long-chain polyprenols varied with the pl ant species; the richest source was C. molle (about 4% of dry mass of leaves). Polyprenol groups characteristic of other systematic families of plants were not found in the Combretaceae studied.