Hydrocarbons, Fatty Acids, and Lipids of Freshwater Grasses of the Potamogetonaceae Family

O. A. Rozentsvet^1*, S. V. Saksonov¹, and V. M. Dembitsky²

¹Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Komzina 10, Togliatti, 445003 Russia; fax: (8482) 48-9405; E-mail: post@ievb.tlt.ru

²Environment Division, School of Applied Sciences and Technology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904 Israel

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received March 7, 2001; Revision received May 10, 2001

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The composition of hydrocarbons, fatty acids, and of total, polar, and neutral lipids was studied in freshwater Potamogetonaceae grasses collected in two different regions of the Volga river. More than 40 fatty acids and hydrocarbons were separated and identified by chromato-mass spectrometry. The variability of lipid characteristics of plants of the same family is discussed.

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KEY WORDS: fatty acids, neutral lipids, polar lipids, hydrocarbons, freshwater plants

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