ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF VASOACTIVE LIPIDS FROM THE NEEDLES OF PINUS-PONDEROSA

Ingestion of ponderosa pine needles by late-pregnant cattle causes pre mature parturition induced by a profound and progressive decrease in u terine blood flow. In vitro perfused placentomes obtained from late-pr egnant cows were used in the bioassay-guided fractionation of Pinus po nderosa pine needles to isolate a new class of vasoactive lipid substa nces. Chromatographically inseparable mixtures of active compounds wer e isolated by Soxhlet extraction and flash column chromatography. The structures of intact myristate and/or laurate diesters of 1,14-tetrade canediol or 1,12-dodecanediol in these extracts were determined by H-1 and C-13 NMR, IR, and high- and low-resolution FAB mass spectrometric analyses. Saponification of small samples of isolated diesters, deriv atization, and GC/MS verified major components as lauric and myristic acids and 1,14-tetradecanediol. Structures of individual components of mixtures of lipids were confirmed by MS-MS analysis.