Abstract
Six polyacetylenes have been isolated from immature seeds of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) by thin-layer chromatography. They were identified as 1, 11-tridecadiene-3, 5, 7, 9-tetrayne, 1, 3, 11-tridecatriene-5, 7, 9-triyne, 1, 3, 5, 11-tridecatetraene-7, 9-diyne, 1-tridecene-3, 5, 7, 9, 11-pentayne, 1, 3-tridecadiene-5, 7, 9, 11-tetrayne and 1, 3, 5-tridecatriene-7, 9, 11-triyne from the results of their spectroscopic and chemical analyses. Three of these polyacetylenes had not been isolated from Carthamus tinctorius L.
Changes in the polyacetylene content during maturation were followed by the measurement of ultraviolet absorbance. While 1, 3, 11 -tridecatriene-5, 7, 9-triyne and 1, 3, 5, 11-tridecatetraene-7, 9-diyne had already occurred abundantly at the day of flowering, the amounts of the other polyacetylenes reached the maximum values at the fourth to sixth days after flowering. Although the total amounts of the six polyacetylenes were about 0.8 mmole/g lipid at the fourth day after flowering, no polyacetylene was detected in the mature seeds.
