Abstract

EPICUTICULAR n-ALKANES FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF KLEINHOVIA HOSPITA LINN. AND THEIR MICROMORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES

Milan Chandra Dey and Amalendu Sinhababu*

Abstract

n-Alkanes are widely utilized for terrestrial plant biomarkers and for the variation of chain-length abundances in modern plants around the world. The distribution of n-alkanes composition of the plant parts (leaves, flowers and seeds) of Kleinhovia hospita showed wide variation among themselves within the same geographical region. The n-hexane extract separately obtained from fresh mature leaves, flowers and seeds of K. hospita containing a thin layer of epicuticular waxes, has been analyzed for the first time by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface wax of leaves, flowers and seeds contain eighteen, nineteen and sixteen long chain hydrocarbons accounting of 94.07%, 95.92% and 93.85% respectively. The predominant n-alkanes are Hentriacontane (C31), Tritriacontane (C33) and Heptatriacontane (C37) respectively. SEM studies of surface features of leaves, flowers and seeds of K. hospita as well as their respective extracted hydrocarbons showed characteristic micro-morphological architecture and chemotaxonomic significance.

Keywords: Kleinhovia hospita, n-alkanes, epicuticular wax, GC, SEM, chemotaxonomy.