Aceite Esencial de Cuphea

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Industrial Crops and Products, 1 (1992) 31-34

r) 1992 Elsevier Science Publishers BY All rights reserved, 0926-6690/92/S05.00

INDCRO 00005

Composition of seed oils in some Latin American Cuphea

(Lythraceae)Shirley A. Grahama and Robert Kleimanb

'Departmelll ojBiological Sciences, Kelll State University, Kent, OH, USA ancfbUSDA-ARS, Northern Regional

Research Celller, Peoria, IL, USA

(Received 26 August 1991: accepted 13 February 1992)

Abstract

Graham, S.A. and Kleiman, R., 1992. Composition of seed oils in some Latin American Cuphea (Lythraceae).Industr. Crops Products, I: 31-34.

Cuphea is unique among all flowering plants for the diversity ofmedium chain fatty acids produced as dominant

fatty acids in the seed oils. The genus is a focus of research as a renewable source of MCTs for use by the

chemical, food and health industries and as a model organism for the elucidation of biosynthesis of fatty acids,

Seed oil composition is reported in 15 taxa, including 13 species previously unstudied, Results mostly substantiate

patterns established in earlier studies in which species emphasize production of a single fatty acid, either C8:0,

CIO:O, CI2:0, C14:0 or CI8:2. Three species are unusual in producing equal amounts ofC8:0 and CIO:O, C12:0

and C14:0, and ClO:0-CI2:0-CI4:0, respectively, In C. pulcherrima, 94% of total seed oil composition is caprylic

acid (C8:0) and in C. schumann ii, 94% is capric acid (ClO:0). These are the highest single fatty acid percentages

reported in the genus, Representatives of sect. Ornithocuphea are analysed for the first time and new compositional

seed oil patterns are reported in sections Brachyandra and kIelvilla.

Seed oil; Latin American Cuphea

31

The New World genus Cuphea is currently included

in a select list of flowering plant genera that show

exceptional promise as new industrial crop plants

(Hinman, 1986; Knapp, 1990; ThomI1son, 1984),

Seeds of Cuphea produce oils composed of a

diversity of medium-chain fatty acids, with indivi

dual species usually emphasizing one of several

fatty acids, Cuphea oilseeds may be rich in caprylic

(C8:0), capr ic (ClO:O), laur ic (C12:0), myristic

(C14:0), linoleic (C18:2) or, occasionally, linolenic

acid (C18:3), The lipids occur primarily in the

embryo and constitute up to 42% of total seed

Correspondence: Shirley A. Graham, Department of Biological

Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA.

weight, most commonly with 30-33% oil content

(Arkcoll, 1988; Thompson and Kleiman, 1988),

The value of Cuphea seed lipids lies in the composi

tional diversity produced and the utilization that

can be made of the various fatty acids by the

chemical, food and health industries, The primary

medium chain fatty acid in use at present is lauric

acid, It is employed extensively in the manufacture

of food products, household cleaners and personal

care products, in industr ial lubricants, and in

coatings and plastics (Knaut and Richtler, 1985),

About one billion pounds of lauric oils are

imported annually by the United States for such

uses (Kleiman, 1990), Of recent development are

structured lipid mixtures in which linoleic acid



(typically predominate in plant seed oils) is blended

with shorter chain fatty acids, which ClIplzea seeds

produce in abundance. Such formulations are

employed to improve digestion in newborns, for

weight control in obese patients, and in other

specific nutritional medical applications (Babayan,

1981, 1987). Because of the unique diversity of

fatty acids produced among the species, ClIplzea is

also viewed as a model system for the s tudy of the

fat ty acid biosynthetic mechanism (Slabas et al.,

1982: Deerberg et aI., 1990), while isolation of the

genes that control the system is a goal of biotech

nology firms seeking to transfer fatty acid synthesis

genes to established oilseed plants such as rape

(Graham, 1989a).

Seed oil composition patterns of 73 species of

ClIplzea or ca. 28% of the genus have been deter

mined (Graham et al., 1981; Wolf et al., 1983:

Graham and Kleiman, 1985) and are summarizedby Graham (1989a). Fifteen new analyses are

reported here, including analyses of 13 previously

unstudied taxa in six of the fourteen sections of

the genus.

Materials and Methods

Seeds for analysis were collected in Brazil. Bolivia,

Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela. Her-

barium vouchers are deposited at Kent State Uni

versity (KE-G). Analysis follows proceduresoutlined earlier (Wolf et al., 1983). After transester

ification to their methyl esters, fat ty acids of the

wild seeds were determined by gas-liquid chroma-

tography, and content of single fatty acids was

computed as percentage of the total fatty acids.

Results and Discussion

Fatty acid composition of seed oils in 15 taxa of

ClIplzea is summarized in Table I. The species

generally follow patterns repor ted for previous

species analysed. They are congruent with patterns

of related species in most, but not all, instances.

Among the taxa reported, the following deserve

special comment. In C. denticlilata seeds primarily

produce l inoleic acid (C18:2), the most common

constituent of flowering plant seed lipids. Domi-

nance of C18:2 in C. denticlilata is in keeping with

the pattern in section Cliphea (see summary: Gra-

ham, 1989a). The emphasis on this most common

plant fatty acid, together \vith the nearly regular

(vs. irregular or zygomorphic) flowers characteris

tic of the section, suggests that the most primitive

species of the genus occur in section ClIplzea.

In section Braclzyandra, C. micrantlza. with two

major fatty acids (CI2:0=47% and CI4:0=40%),

differs from a previously repor ted populat ion in

which lauric acid dominated (CI2:0=53%) and

myristic acid was secondary (CI4:0= 18%)(Gra

ham et al., 1981). The first population is from

Dominican Republic, the latter from Brazil. Most

species of ClIplzea are represented by one dominant

fatty acid in the seed oil, and only occasionally by

two. In only one species to date, C. micropetala

var. hirtella, three fatty acids occur in approxi

mately equal proportions. Where several popula

tions of one species have been analysed, minor

variation of 10% or less normally occurs in percen

tage of fat ty acids produced, rather than major

variations such as reported here for C. micrantlza.

C. micropetala (sect. Melvilla) appears to have

two compositional patterns, one in each variety of

the species. In var. hirtella three dominant fatty

acids, CI0:0, C12:0 and CI4:0, occur in approxi

mately equal amounts; in var. micropetala, one of

the three, CI4:0, is predominant.

The section Melvilla is considered polyphyletic

based on diversity of pollen types and floral charac

ters such as spur shape and calyx lobe types

(Graham and Graham, 1971; Graham, 1990 and

unpublished data). Seed oil composition patterns

support the presence of at least three major lin

eages. Lineages of C I0:0 and C 12:0 species were

previously reported (Graham, 1989a). The addition

of C. micropetala var. micropetala, C. rasilis, C.

salvadorensis with C14:0 seed oils suggests presence

of a third group of related species. Evidence for

relationships using seed oil composition is welcome

in this section where convergence of the most

prominent floral characters as a result of similar

specialized pol lina to rs (hummingbirds , hawk

moths , long-tongued bees) makes determination

of relationships difficult. Differences in composi

tion patterns are thus valuable in assessing evolu

tionary relationships among the species.

In the evolutionarily advanced sect. Diplop-

tychia, seed oils of C. ianthina are unique in having

nearly equal amounts of C8:0 and CIO:O. The

same pattern is reported for C. pinetorllm in this



33

TABLE I

Fatty acid composition of Cuphea seed oils expressed as percentages of total fatty acid composition. Species are arranged according

to the classification of Koehne (1903)

Species Percentage of total fatty acids (% ) Collection

8: 0 10:0 12:0 14:0 16:0 18 :0 18: I 18:2 18:3

Sect. CupheaC. dellliculala Kunth 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 33.0 0.4 9.8 53.2 3.5 Venezuela: Fryxel/ 4381

Sect. Brachyalldra

C. me/anium R.Br. 0.0 4.7 85.9 7.6 0.9 0.0 0.2 0.7 0.0 Dom. Republic: Zanoni 38177

C. micralll!w Kunth 0.0 0.6 47.0 40.0 6.1 0.1 ' 0 3.8 0.0 Dom. Republic: Zanoni 41271..

C. urens Koehne 0.0 20.1 75.6 3.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.7 0.0 Dom. Republic: Zanoni 41811

Sect. Elialldra

C. acin!folia St.Hil. 4.6 12.5 65.1 10.7 1.8 0.1 1.9 3.1 0.2 Brazil: Graham 951

C. con(enif!ora St.Hil. 3.0 15.2 73.3 3.7 1.0 0.1 0.9 2.6 0.1 Brazil: Graham 927

Sect. MeMlla

C. micropetala

var. micropetala Kunth 0.0 17.0 23.7 47.8 5.1 0.2 1.9 4.2 0.1 Mexico: Graham 1051

var. hirtel/a Koehne 0.0 22.3 27.1 38.7 4.1 0.2J 0

4.9 0.4 Mexico: Graham 1048_ .

C. rasilis Graham 0.0 13.0 23.7 49.0 5.0 0.3 3.6 5.1 0.2 Mexico: Graham 1027

C. salvadorensis Stand. 25.3 0.9 2.8 64.5 5.2 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.3 Mexico: Graham 1076

C. schumannii Koehne 3.0 93.8 1.0 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.3 1.0 0.1 Mexico: Graham 1090

Sect. Diploptychia

C. cyanea DC. 68.3 29.8 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.6 0.7 0.1 Mexico: Graham 1070

C. ianthina Koehne 50.1 45.9 0.3 0.1 0.7 0.1 1.0 1.8 0.1 Bolivia: Smith 13925

Sect. Omithocllphea

C. avigera Rob. & Seat. 23.0 42.5 0.4 0.2 5.0 2.2 21.6 4.9 0.2 Mexico: Graham 1053

C. pulcherrima Foster 94.4o 0

0.0 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.7 1.0 0.0 Mexico: Graham 1052. .J

section with C8:0=48% and ClO:0=40% of totalfatty acid percentages (Graham et aL 1981). Other

species of the section produce either C8:0 or C I0:0

oils.

A mechanism for production of mixed

composition oils within a species has not been

determined. It has been suggested that species with

codominant fatty acids might have originated as

allopolyploids from species with different domi

nant fatty acid oil types (Knapp, personal

communication, 1992). Chromosome numbers of

the species with mixed-composit ion oils, which

allow limited assessment of this idea. are available

for all mixed-composition species except C. ian-

thina (Graham, 1989b, 1992). Cuphea micrapetala

var. micrapetala and var. hirtella with different

fatty acid patterns have the same chromosome

number and are tetraploids with n = 16. Cuphea

pinetarum is a diploid with n = I I . In C. micrantha

the two populations differing in fatty acid composi

tion are both diploids with n = 8 (Graham et al.,

1981; Graham, unpublished data). On the basis ofthis limited evidence, allopolyploidy does not

appear to be the causal factor in the mixed and

differing patterns of these three species.

Seed oil composit ion in section Ornithacuphea

is reported for the first time. Two morphologically

very similar species, C. avigera and C. pulcherrima,

are analysed and, surprisingly, have different major

fatty acids. C. pulcherrima, with 94.4% caprylic

acid, has the highest percentage of any single fatty

acid recorded to date in seeds of Cuphea. Cuphea

schumannii in section !vIelvilla also has nearly as

high percentage ofa single fatty acid, 93.8% capric

acid.

The remainder of the species analysed display

patterns of seed oil composition typical of those

reported ear lier for their section, and strengthen

the observed, but as yet unexplained, trend toward

predominance of shorter chain length fat ty acids

with evolutionary advancement in the genus

(Graham et al., 1981).



34

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge A. Graham,

P. Fryxeli . D. Smith and T. Zanoni for collection

of seeds analysed in this s tudy and S. Knapp for

insightful suggestions for further investigation. The

\vork is supported in part by NSF grant BSR8806523 to S. Graham.

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