PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF LEAVES OF TEAK (TECTONA GRANDIS L.F.) BY GC MS

The timber value of Tectona grandishas been established from decades. Teak is an exotic species cultivated along most parts of tropical regions. Anthocyanins are natural colourants which have raised a growing demand due to their extensive range of colours, innocuous and beneficial health effects. Anthocyanins belong to large group of polyphenolics - flavonoids, which are secondary metabolites synthesized by higher plants. Despite the remarkable application of anthocyaninsin food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, still it is not properly exploited. In the present study, the bioactive components of Tectonagrandisyoung leaves have been evaluated using Perkin-Elmer Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry. GC-MS analysis revealed the existence of eleven compounds. 5,9-Methanobenzocycloocten1(2H)-one,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10-octahydro-5,10-dihydroxy-3,3,7,7,9-pentamethyl(76.02%) and 1-naphthalene carboxylic acid, 5-[2-(3-furanyl)ethyl]decahydro-1,4a-dimethyl-6-methylene-[1R-(1.alpha.,4a.)] (13.95%). Other compounds present in minor quantities were ledol(0.92%), 3-Buten-2-one,4-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1- cyclohexen-1-yl)orionone(0.49%),9,12,15 Octadecatrienoic acid, methyl ester, (Z,Z,Z)- or Linolenic acid methyl ester (0.82%), Phytol(0.69%), Cedran-diol, 8S,14- (0.60%), Lupeol (0.71%), 3-Methoxymethyl2,5,5,8a-tetramethyl-6,7,8a-tetrahydro-5H-chromene (3.45%) and Retinol(1.27%). This is the first report of identification of active constituents from the young leaves of Tectonagrandis

The role of epoxidation on Camelina sativa biodiesel properties

<div> <p>An unstandarised biodiesel made from Camelina<em> sativa </em>oil, having over a 90 percent by weight of unsaturated fatty acids, were transformed into an epoxidised biodiesel that satisfy the requirements for iodine value, linolenic acid methyl ester content, cetane number, polyunsaturated fatty acids content, and viscosity established by the EN 14214 and ASTM D 6751 standards. The epoxidation reaction was carried out at 60 &deg;C using peroxyacetic acid generated <em>in situ</em> and sulphuric acid as catalyst. A conversion of 60 % of double bonds was reached after 3 hours of reaction. However, only one hour was needed to get standard requirements and to avoid the epoxide ring opening side reaction that leads to hydroxyl groups. Besides, it was also observed that the formation of hydroxyl groups increases the kinematic viscosity of the biodiesel, being deleterious for the biodiesel properties.&nbsp;</p> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p>