Abstract
Fatty acids from the lipids of the Japanese yew Taxus cuspidata seeds collected at various districts all contained rich amounts of cis-5, cis-9-octadecadienoic acid (5, 9-18 : 2) (16.118.9%) with small amounts of 5, 9, 12-18 : 3 (1.83.4%) and 5, 11, 14-20 : 3 (1.02.8%) as cis-5-olefinic nonmethyleneinterrupted (NMI) acids. On the other hand, fatty acids from the neutral lipids of the arils and leaves contained appreciable amounts of 5, 11, 14-20 : 3 (leaves 8.1%and arils 1.2%) and 5, 11, 14, 17-20 : 4 (leaves 6.2% and arils 1.5%), but 5, 9-18 : 2was not detected or detected only in a trace amount in them. Fatty acids from the galactolipids of the leaves also contained small amounts of the NMI acids (5, 9, 12, 15-18 : 4 0.3%, 5, 11, 14-20 : 3 0.4%, 5, 11, 14, 17-20 : 4 1.8%), in addition to a large amount of linolenic acid (72.8%). The 5-olefinic NMI acids were generally more rich in neutral lipids than in polar lipids. The yew seeds showed nearly the same fatty acid composition during maturation.
