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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #114739
Title: ACIDOLYSIS PRODUCTS OF THE LIGNIN-LIKE MATERIAL FROM PECTINASE ELICITED SQUASH FRUIT INDICATES IT IS NOT DERIVED FROM P-COUMARYL ALCOHOL

Author
item Ralph, John
item PENG, JUNPENG - U OF WISCONSIN MADISON
item STRANGE, RICHARD - USDA ARS ORLANDO FL
item MC DONALD, ROY - USDA ARS ORLANDO FL
item MIDLAND, SHARON - U CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
item SIMS, JAMES - U CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE

Submitted to: Phytochemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/29/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Wounding causes changes to plant materials that affect their performance as human and animal foods. In some cases, an increase in the component generally referred to as "lignin" is typical of a wound response. However, there can be substantial differences between this type of "wound-response lignin" and the lignin present in healthy plant tissues. Since we were interested in lignins containing a higher proportion of a normally minor component, p-coumaryl alcohol, we examine the "lignin-like material" that was the most studied to date -- the material produced when squash fruit is wounded. What we found, however, was that the currently accepted nature of this material appears to be incorrect. It appears to derive instead from a precursor to the lignin component. This is perhaps reasonable since producing a wound-response polymer from a component earlier in the biosynthetic pathway can be accomplished more quickly and with fewer plant resources; the wound response (to protect the rest of the plant tissue) ca therefore be more rapid. The finding is important in providing a basic understanding of wounding to provide a basis for improving food/feed performance in sustainable agriculture.

Technical Abstract: Accumulation of lignin-like material (L-LM) by plant tissues in response to injury or disease has been observed in a wide variety of plant taxa. The most intensively studied L-LM is that produced by members of the Curcurbitaceae; this material is thought to be an unusual lignin rich in p-coumaryl alcohol derived subunits. Employing acidolysis, a technique not previously used to study induced L-LMs, we found the primary degradation product of L-LM from squash fruit was p-coumaryl aldehyde. These findings conflict with the current concept of L-LM, but would be consistent with the L-LM being a polymer derived directly from p-coumaraldehyde or a gum containing this compound. Further, we report on a simple TLC method useful for rapid qualitative characterization of acidolysis degradation products.