Extraction of a Natural Product Trimyristin

Extraction of natural materials often produces complex mixtures of products, as described in the Historical Highlight at the end of this chapter, so additional operations are required to separate and purify individual compoimds. These procedures may involve techniques in which the compounds are separated on the basis of their acidic or basic properties (Sec. 5.3) or by chromatographic methods (Chap. 6). Thus, the isolation of pure natural products normally involves a series of complex and time-consuming operations. Fortunately there are some exceptions to this general rule. The isolation of trimyristin (20) from nutmeg is one of them. 

Trimyristin, which occurs in many vegetable fats and oils, is a triester of glycerol (21) and the fatty acid myristic acid (22). Most naturally occurring fats and oils are esters of 21 and straight-chain carboxyhc adds, the most common of which contain 14 to 20 carbon atoms. In fact, the only difference between a fat and an oil is whether it is a solid or Hquid at room temperature. The lack of any double bonds in the carbon chain of myristic acid makes 20 a member of the family of saturated fats, which allegedly increase the risk of heart disease if present in the diet in excessive amoimts. 

---