JOJOBA WAX - ITS ESTERS AND SOME OF ITS MINOR COMPONENTS

A lack of reliability in the usual determinations of fatty acids and f atty alcohols of jojoba wax prompted us to propose an original method of hydrolysis and extraction, making it possible to better determine t he composition of fatty acids and alcohols of the wax.High-performance liquid chromatography fractionation of the wax allowed isolation of f our main classes of esters (which differed by their partition number). The detailed study of these ester classes emphasized the way acids an d alcohols are connected, and fourteen distinct esters were thus ident ified. Some triacylglycerols, free fatty alcohols and other minor comp onents of jojoba wax were found and quantitated. Seven sterols were id entified, four for the first time.