SOLID-STATE NMR-STUDY OF LEAF CELL-WALLS OF OIL PALM

Lignified and non-lignified cell walls from leaf laminae of oil palm Elaeis guineensis were separated by controlled homogenization and wet sieving. Their solid-state C-13 NMR spectra were obtained at 75 MHz using crosspolarization and magic-angle spinning. The spectrum of the non-lignified cell walls was consistent with the presence of cellulose and xylans with little pectin, as in the Gramineae. The lignified cell walls appeared to contain a high-syringyl lignin, but both they and the non-lignified cell wall preparation contained substantial quantities of a cutin-like polymer accounting for at least some of the phenolic residues present.