The acetylenic acid inComandra pallida andOsyris alba seed oils

Gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) analyses are reported for fatty acid methyl esters from seed oils of two previously unreported species of Santalaceae,Comandra pallida A. DC. andOsyris alba L. The major component in each (43 and 57%, respectively) is an enynoic acid, probablytrans-11-octadecen-9-ynoic (ximenynic) acid which has been found in seed oils of other members of this family. Equivalent chain lengths by GLC analysis and infrared and ultraviolet spectra agree with those obtained by our analyses ofXimenia americana L., in which ximenynic acid is known to occur. The spectral data also agree with those in literature reports on ximenynic acid. The positions of unsaturation have, however, not been rigorously established for the two species newly reported. A laboratory of the No. Utiliz. Res. & Dev. Div., ARS, U.S.D.A.