1982 Volume 17 Issue 4 Pages 258-264
Parsley (Petroselinum crispurn) was sown in March, grown under protection from sunlight in an urban, and a rural area, and sampled in July and November. The leaf surface lipids were extracted with n-hexane, and analyzed for hydrocarbons by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after purification with column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography. Normal C18-34 alkanes were 80.4-94.8% in the total hydrocarbons (THC). Main constituents of the alkanes were n-nonacosane (n-C29), n-heptacosane (n-C27), and n-pentacosane (n-C25). Branched alkanes, such as 2-methylheptacosane and 2-methylnonacosane, were found as minor constituents. 1-Alkenes with C20-32 were 1.5-2.9% of the THC, and their major components were 1-octacosene (C28=1) and 1-hexacosene (C26=1). The amounts of the THC in the urban samples were twice levels those in the rural ones in both July and November. The composition patterns of the hydrocarbons were similar in both areas in July. However, in the November samples, the major components of the alkanes (n-C29, n-C27 and n-C25) and the alkenes (C28=1 and C26=1) decreased in the urban, whereas increased considerably in the rural. Analytical data of a comparative parsley from an agricultural area were similar to those of the rural ones. These results suggest strongly that a significant increase of the leaf surface THC of parsley will be observed under conditions of air pollution, and that the major hydrocarbon components tend to decrease with growth-time under heavily polluted air conditions.
