Abstract
The following polyenoic acids were isolated from marine plankton and their structure determined by oxidative and reductive ozonide degradation:[DELTA]6,9,12,15-exadecatetraenoic acid, [DELTA]6,9,12-hexadecatrienoic acid, [DELTA] 6,9-and [DELTA]9,12-hexadecadienoic acid, and[DELTA]9-hexadecenoic acid. The fatty acid composition of different plankton samples was determined by gas chromatography and the divinylmethane structure of plankton polyenoic acids demonstrated by oxidative ozonide degradation of the unsatureted fatty acid methyl esters. The aldehyde mixture obtained by reductive ozonide degradation contained practically 50 Mol. % of propanal. Thus the C18-, C20-, and C22-polyenoic acids are mainly of the linolenic acid type.