Isolation of a Compound from Alfalfa Lipids that Inhibits Tocopherol Deposition in Chick Tissues

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Abstract
A series of experiments was conducted to determine the chick tissue tocopherol-depressing activity of various fractions separated from alfalfa lipid extract. The methods of separation included precipitation from various solvents, column, and thin-layer chromatography. Liver and plasma tocopherol levels of chicks fed diets containing the various alfalfa fractions were used as the criteria of measurement. Two tocopherol-depressing fractions, an ethanol-soluble fraction, and an ethanol- and Skellysolve B-insoluble but acetone-soluble fraction, were isolated from the crude alfalfa lipid extract. The latter fraction was further subdivided by column chromatography and purified by thin-layer chromatography. Feeding the purified compound at levels of 0.02 and 0.00125% (200 and 12.5 ppm) of the diet resulted in a depression in liver storage of tocopherol of approximately 70 and 33%, respectively. This compound is dark green to black in color, and has a very firm but waxy consistency with a melting point of 114° and a molecular weight of 1060. The carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen content is 73.72, 8.36, 9.47, and 5.50%, respectively. The visible and infrared spectra indicate the possible presence of a prophyrin nucleus.