Hydroxy fatty acids in Bacteroides species: D-(--)-3-hydroxy-15-methylhexadecanoate and its homologs

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Abstract
Acid hydrolysates of 140 strains, representing 11 Bacteroides spp., were analyzed by capillary gas-liquid chromatography for total cellular fatty acid. All samples contained components which appeared to be hydroxy fatty acid. The relative amount and chain length distribution of the hydroxy fatty acids, and the nonhydroxy fatty acids, varied according to species. To characterize the presumed hydroxy acids, a composite of some 40 of these samples was analyzed by thin-layer and capillary gas-liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, IR-spectrophotometry and polarimetry. The hydroxy acids were of the D-(-)-3-hydroxy acid family. The predominant component was the iso-branched D-(-)-3-hydroxy-15-methylhexadecanoic acid. Lesser amounts of the iso-branched 15-C, straight-chain 16-C, and anteiso-branched 17-C acids were also found.