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The cuticles of Citrus species. Composition of leaf and fruit waxes
Author(s) -
Baker Edward A.,
Procopiou John,
Hunt Grace M.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740260807
Subject(s) - wax , orange (colour) , botany , composition (language) , chemical composition , chemistry , horticulture , biology , organic chemistry , linguistics , philosophy
Seasonal changes in the surface waxes of the leaves and fruits of four species of Citrus have been examined. Leaf wax deposits ranging from 20 μg/cm 2 in orange to 31 μg/cm 2 in lemon were consistent during all except the most juvenile stages of growth whereas the surface waxes of the fruits showed considerable variation, the most pronounced being a 58% decrease in the wax deposits of lemon between July and October. Hydrocarbons (23–66%), primary alcohols (6–38%) and fatty acids (2–20%) were important constituents of the waxes of mature leaves and fruits but aldehydes present as major components of the fruit waxes (28–44%), were found only in trace quantities in the leaf waxes. n ‐Hentriacontane and n ‐tritriacontane, the dominant homologues of the hydrocarbon fractions were the major components of the leaf waxes which also contained n ‐hexacosanol and n ‐octacosonal as important constituents. n ‐Nonacosane, n ‐hentriacontane, n ‐tetracosanal, n ‐hexacosanal and n ‐octacosanal were present in the largest proportions in the fruit waxes.