Nasturtium, oil

Phenyl-ethyl isothiocyanate. CgHj,(C.2H4)N C S, has been found in the oils of reseda root, nasturtium, and some varieties of Brassica. It is an oil of powerful odour, yielding a thiourea, melting at 137°. The latter body, when treated with silver nitrate and baryta water, yields phenyl-ethyl-urea, melting at 111° to 112°. 

By way of a specific example let us consider erucic acid. The main commercial source of erucic acid is a specially bred form of rape seed (HEAR) as pointed out above. With European consumption being around 60 000 tpa almost 40 000 ha of land are used to grow rapeseed for erucic acid production in Europe. The high level of erucic found in this type of rape seed oil make it unsuitable for human consumption, owing to the indigestibility of such large amounts of this acid. Erucic acid is also the major fatty acid to be found in nasturtium and crambe seeds (up to 75% and 56% respectively), and it is also found in the salad herb, rocket. 

N.A. Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum (L.) Hayek. Raphanolide, raphanol, diastase, ferment, gluconasturin, bitters, essential oils, phenyl ethyl, vitamins, niacin.303 A blood builder, antidyskratic diuretic activities, lymphatic and digestive cleansing, treat prostate irritation, vaginal pruritis, chronic skin irritations. 

Underhill, E.W., Chisholm, M.D. and Wetter, L.R. (1962) Biosynthesis of mustard oil glucosides administration of C-labelled compounds to horseradish, nasturtium and watercress. Can.. Biochem. Physiol., 40,1505-14. 

Erucic Acid. 13-Docosenolc acid Al3 l4-docoseno-ic acid. C]2H4202 mol wt 338.56. C 78.04%, H 12.51%, O 9.45%. A monoethenoid acid found in the seed fats of Cru-ciferae and Tropaeolaceae. It constitutes 40 to 50% of the total fatty acids of rapeseed, mustard- and wallflower seed, and it represents up to 80% of fatty acids of nasturtium seeds, cf K. S. Markley, Fatty Acids Part I (Interscience. New York, 2nd ed., 1960) p 138-139. Prepn of a crude product hy alkaline hydrolysis of rapeseed oil Noller, Talbot, Org. Syn. eoll. vol. II, 258 (1943). A purer product is obtained by the method of Dor6e and Pepper, J. Chem. Soc. 1942, 477, which involves a fractional precipitation and crystallization. Prepn of a pure product by acid soap crystallization Chobanov el al. Chem. A Ind. (London) 1965, 606. Synthesis Bowman, J. Chem. Soc. 1950, 177, 325 Bounds et al. ibid. 1953, 2393. Treatment with nitric acid yields the trans isomer, brassidic acid, q v. Dorie. Pepper-foe. eft. Brief review E. Lower, Manuf. Chem. 56(6), 61-63 (1985). 

Scientists from the University of Guelph (McCutcheon et ai, 1976) repeated the earlier study by Abdellatif and Vies (1973) and found that erucic acid will increase heart lesions irrespective of the source of erucic acid, i.e., whether from a HEAR oil or from a non-Brass/ca source, such as nasturtium seed (Tropaeolum majus) (Table V). They reported that removal of linolenic acid (18 3) from a simulated HEAR oil which contained 28.7% 22 1 resulted in a significant reduction in the severity of heart lesions. On the other hand, increasing the level of linoleic acid (18 2) in a HEAR oil or a simulated HEAR oil had no apparent effect. These results suggest that there may be an interaction of erucic and linolenic acid, or that linolenic acid predisposes the heart to lesions. 

The most important C22 monoene acid is undoubtedly erucic acid (A13c). It occurs, generally at a high level, in seed oils of the Cruciferae (rape, mustard, etc.) and reaches about 80% in the nasturtium. 

Although erucic acid (22 1 13c) is present in seed oils of most Cruciferae, reaching a level of 80% in nasturtium seed oil, the most important erucic-con-taining oils are those from rape, mustard and Crambe abyssinica (Sections 3.3.27, 3.3.21 and 3.3.11). The... 

Erucic acid, Z-13-docosenoic acid, d docose-noic acid- CH3-(CH2),-CH = CH-(CH2)n-COOH, M, 338.56, cis-form m.p. 34 C, b.p.jo 254.5 °C, a fatty acid found esterified in the glycerides of many seed oils of the Cruciferae and Tropaeolaceae. It constitutes 40-50 % of the total fatty acids of rapeseed, mustard and wallflower seeds, and 80 % of the fatty acids of nasturtium seeds. 

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