Lipids and Waxes in Leaves of Some Mangrove Plants of Sunderban, India

Abstract

Lipid and wax contents of different mangrove leaves are more or less uniform though the plants belong to different families. Mangrove leaves in general have characteristic low triglycerides and simple fatty acids. Fatty acids with C16 and C18 chain are comparatively frequent and C16 chain being predominant in plants of edge communities. Presence of C18 chain in wax esters is also an important character of mangrove leaves. On the contrary, some fatty acids common in leaves of Ficus bengalensis, a non-mangrove plant with fleshy leaves and now adopted in reclaimed islands, are not found in mangroves. Similarities in fatty acid composition in mangrove leaves indicate that these compounds probably control water economy and help adaptation of mangroves in physiologically dry soil.