The mechanism of adipocere formation 1. Identification and chemical properties of hydroxy fatty acids in adipocere.
The hydroxy fatty acid purified from the adipocere, m.p. 78.5 degrees -79.0 degrees C, was optically inactive and the adipocere contained about 3 to 20% hydroxy fatty acid of the total fatty acids. The melting point of the hydroxy fatty acid was nearly identical with that of the 10-D, L-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid synthesized organically, suggesting that the hydroxy fatty acid in the adipocere appears to be converted non-enzymatically. In the adipocere two hydroxy fatty acid components were detected by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The major and minor components were identified as 10-hydroxyoctadecanoic and 10-hydroxyhexadecanoic acids, respectively, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). These hydroxy fatty acids found in the adipocere appear to play an important role on the formation of adipocere.
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000032:analysis; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009904:Optical Rotation; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
D005227:Fatty Acids; D008055:Lipids