Oleic acid jojoba

The enzymatic esterification of oleic acid and oleyl alcohol to obtain oleyl oleate, which is a synthetic analogue of jojoba oil, was studied. The reaction was catalyzed by a commercially available immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei. As solvents, carbon dioxide and liquid n-butane were used. Reactions were performed in a batch and in continuously operating high pressure reactors. 

Oil phase Mineral oil Isopropyl myristate Beeswax Cottonseed oil Cetostearyl alcohol Lanolin (and derivatives) White soft paraffin Yellow soft paraffin Canola oil Cetyl alcohol Arachis (peanut) oil Oleic acid Isopropyl palmitate Castor oil Stearyl alcohol Jojoba oil Stearic acid Silicone oils... 

Elongation of fatty acids is important in two commercial oil seeds, rape and jojoba. Most varieties of rape accumulate large quantities of d5-13-docosenoic (erucic) acid in their seed triacylglycerols. This is formed by elongation of oleic acid and the reactions have been studied in rape and the closely related Crambe abyssinica (Appleby etaL, 1974). Elongation in jojoba (which accumulates lipid as wax esters) uses a system with oleoyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA as substrates. The enzymes involved have been studied in jojoba and other plants where very-long-chain fatty acids are synthesized (Pollard and Stumpf, 1980). 

The in vivo data of Ohlrogge et al. (1978a) with developing jojoba cotyledons and of Pollard et al. (1979) with extracts of these tissues are equally compelling. These workers clearly showed that under m vivo conditions only [ CJoleic acid was the precursor of the four principal components making up the wax esters in this tissue, namely, c/s-ll-eicosenoic acid, c/s-13-docosen-oic acid, c/ -l 1-eicosenol, and cw-13-docosenol, and that [ K ]oleic acid was synthesized de novo in a compartment of the cell other than where the modifications of oleic acid occurred (see Section IV,3). 

Jojoba (Simmondsia chincnsis) This is not actually an oil but a liquid wax. It is good for cosmetic use with moisturizing properties and ideal for dry skin and conditions like eczema and psoriasis. It is similar chemically to sebum and able to dissolve it. The oil keeps well owing to a stable molecular structure and analysis shows both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, with eicosenoic (71%), oleic (14%), stearic (10%) and palmitic (1.5%). The presence of a compound called myristic acid is thought to confer anti-inflammatory properties. 

Chemically, natural fats and oils are triglycerides, also called acylglycerols that is fatty acid triesters of glycerine with different even-numbered, linear fatty acids. The fatty acids may be saturated or unsaturated. There are very few exceptions to this (Figures 9.1.11 and 13). The most well-known exceptions are castor oil, glyceroltriester of 12-hydroxy oleic (ricinoleic) acid, vernonia oil, sperm oil, jojoba oil and tall oil. 

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