Dolichols of rubber plant, ginkgo and pine

Using a two-plate thin-layer chromatography method, we analyzed polyisoprenoid alcohols (dolichols and polyprenols) of the rubber plant Hevea brasiliensis (angiosperm), and of ginkgo Ginkgo biloba and pine Pinus sylvestris (gymnosperms). Special attention was paid to the occurrence of dolichol in various tissues of different plants. Dolichols were found to occur in all of the tissues examined except for flowers of the rubber plant. The chain length distributions of dolichols in seeds,young roots, young shoots, young leaves and old leaves of the rubber plant were C-70-C-95, C-85-C-105, C-80-C-105, C-75-C-105 and C-65-C-90, respectively. In the case of ginkgo, the chain length distributions of dolichols in seeds, embryos, young and old leaves were C-70-C-90, C-70-C-85, C-70-C-90 and C-80-C-95, respectively. Pine seeds were found to contain dolichols with the chain length distribution of C-70-C-90. Two kinds of polyprenol families were detected in leaves of the rubber plant and ginkgo. The longer chain polyprenol family was also detected in seeds of the rubber plant, in seeds and embryos of ginkgo and in seeds of pine. The chain length distributions of the polyprenols were not necessarily the same as those of dolichols occurring in the same tissues. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.