Identification of Castasterone, Typhasterol and Teasterone from the Pollen of Zea mays

Abstract

From the pollen of Zea mays, three brassinosteroids, Castasterone, typhasterol and teasterone, were identified by GC/MS and/or ¹H NMR. Their concentrations in the pollen were shown by GC/SIM to be about 120μ/kg fr.wt. (castasterone), 6.6μ/kg fr.wt. (typhasterol) and 4.1μ/kg fr.wt. (teasterone). It was also found that the anther contained a fairly large amount of brassinosteroids by a bioassay.