Industrial Crops and Products, 1 (1992) 31-34 31

r) 1992 Elsevier Science Publishers BY All rights reserved, 0926-6690/92/S05.00

INDCRO 00005

Composition of seed oils in some Latin American Cuphea

(Lythraceae)
Shirley A. Graham a and Robert Kleiman b
'Departmelll oj Biological Sciences, Kelll State University, Kent, OH, USA ancfbUSDA-ARS, Northern Regional
Research Celller, Peoria, IL, USA
(Received 26 August 1991: accepted 13 February 1992)

Abstract

Graham, S.A. and Kleiman, R., 1992. Composition of seed oils in some Latin American Cuphea (Lythraceae).
Industr. Crops Products, I: 31-34.

Cuphea is unique among all flowering plants for the diversity of medium chain fatty acids produced as dominant
fatty acids in the seed oils. The genus is a focus of research as a renewable source of MCTs for use by the
chemical, food and health industries and as a model organism for the elucidation of biosynthesis of fatty acids,
Seed oil composition is reported in 15 taxa, including 13 species previously unstudied, Results mostly substantiate
patterns established in earlier studies in which species emphasize production of a single fatty acid, either C8:0,
CIO:O, CI2:0, C14:0 or CI8:2. Three species are unusual in producing equal amounts ofC8:0 and CIO:O, C12:0
and C14:0, and ClO:0-CI2:0-CI4:0, respectively, In C. pulcherrima, 94% of total seed oil composition is caprylic
acid (C8:0) and in C. schumann ii, 94% is capric acid (ClO:0). These are the highest single fatty acid percentages
reported in the genus, Representatives of sect. Ornithocuphea are analysed for the first time and new compositional
seed oil patterns are reported in sections Brachyandra and kIelvilla.

Seed oil; Latin American Cuphea

The New World genus Cuphea is currently included
in a select list of flowering plant genera that show
exceptional promise as new industrial crop plants
(Hinman, 1986; Knapp, 1990; ThomI1son, 1984),
Seeds of Cuphea produce oils composed of a
diversity of medium-chain fatty acids, with indivi-
dual species usually emphasizing one of several
fatty acids, Cuphea oilseeds may be rich in caprylic
(C8:0), capric (ClO:O), lauric (C12:0), myristic
(C14:0), linoleic (C18:2) or, occasionally, linolenic
acid (C18:3), The lipids occur primarily in the
embryo and constitute up to 42% of total seed
Correspondence: Shirley A. Graham, Department of Biological
Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA.
weight, most commonly with 30-33% oil content
(Arkcoll, 1988; Thompson and Kleiman, 1988),
The value of Cuphea seed lipids lies in the composi-
tional diversity produced and the utilization that
can be made of the various fatty acids by the
chemical, food and health industries, The primary
medium chain fatty acid in use at present is lauric
acid, It is employed extensively in the manufacture
of food products, household cleaners and personal
care products, in industrial lubricants, and in
coatings and plastics (Knaut and Richtler, 1985),
About one billion pounds of lauric oils are
imported annually by the United States for such
uses (Kleiman, 1990), Of recent development are
structured lipid mixtures in which linoleic acid
(typically predominate in plant seed oils) is blended
with shorter chain fatty acids, which ClIplzea seeds
produce in abundance. Such formulations are
employed to improve digestion in newborns, for
weight control in obese patients, and in other
specific nutritional medical applications (Babayan,
1981, 1987). Because of the unique diversity of
fatty acids produced among the species, ClIplzea is
also viewed as a model system for the study of the
fatty acid biosynthetic mechanism (Slabas et al.,
1982: Deerberg et aI., 1990), while isolation of the
genes that control the system is a goal of biotech-
nology firms seeking to transfer fatty acid synthesis
genes to established oilseed plants such as rape
(Graham, 1989a).
Seed oil composition patterns of 73 species of
ClIplzea or ca. 28% of the genus have been deter-
mined (Graham et al., 1981; Wolf et al., 1983:
Graham and Kleiman, 1985) and are summarized
by Graham (1989a). Fifteen new analyses are
reported here, including analyses of 13 previously
unstudied taxa in six of the fourteen sections of
the genus.
Materials and Methods
Seeds for analysis were collected in Brazil. Bolivia,
Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela. Her-
barium vouchers are deposited at Kent State Uni-
versity (KE-G). Analysis follows procedures
outlined earlier (Wolf et al., 1983). After transester-
ification to their methyl esters, fatty acids of the
wild seeds were determined by gas-liquid chroma-
tography, and content of single fatty acids was
computed as percentage of the total fatty acids.
Results and Discussion
Fatty acid composition of seed oils in 15 taxa of
ClIplzea is summarized in Table I. The species
generally follow patterns reported for previous
species analysed. They are congruent with patterns
of related species in most, but not all, instances.
Among the taxa reported, the following deserve
special comment. In C. denticlilata seeds primarily
produce linoleic acid (C 18:2), the most common
constituent of flowering plant seed lipids. Domi-
nance of C18:2 in C. denticlilata is in keeping with
the pattern in section Cliphea (see summary: Gra-
ham, 1989a). The emphasis on this most common
plant fatty acid, together \vith the nearly regular
(vs. irregular or zygomorphic) flowers characteris-
tic of the section, suggests that the most primitive
species of the genus occur in section ClIplzea.
In section Braclzyandra, C. micrantlza. with two
major fatty acids (CI2:0=47% and CI4:0=40%),
differs from a previously reported population in
which lauric acid dominated (CI2:0=53%) and
myristic acid was secondary (CI4:0= 18%)(Gra-
ham et al., 1981). The first population is from
Dominican Republic, the latter from Brazil. Most
species of ClIplzea are represented by one dominant
fatty acid in the seed oil, and only occasionally by
two. In only one species to date, C. micropetala
var. hirtella, three fatty acids occur in approxi-
mately equal proportions. Where several popula-
tions of one species have been analysed, minor
variation of 10% or less normally occurs in percen-
tage of fatty acids produced, rather than major
variations such as reported here for C. micrantlza.
C. micropetala (sect. M elvilla) appears to have
two compositional patterns, one in each variety of
the species. In var. hirtella three dominant fatty
acids, CI0:0, C12:0 and CI4:0, occur in approxi-
mately equal amounts; in var. micropetala, one of
the three, CI4:0, is predominant.
The section Melvilla is considered polyphyletic
based on diversity of pollen types and floral charac-
ters such as spur shape and calyx lobe types
(Graham and Graham, 1971; Graham, 1990 and
unpublished data). Seed oil composition patterns
support the presence of at least three major lin-
eages. Lineages of C I0:0 and C 12:0 species were
previously reported (Graham, 1989a). The addition
of C. micropetala var. micropetala, C. rasilis, C.
salvadorensis with C14:0 seed oils suggests presence
of a third group of related species. Evidence for
relationships using seed oil composition is welcome
in this section where convergence of the most
prominent floral characters as a result of similar
specialized pollinators (hummingbirds, hawk-
moths, long-tongued bees) makes determination
of relationships difficult. Differences in composi-
tion patterns are thus valuable in assessing evolu-
tionary relationships among the species.
In the evolutionarily advanced sect. Diplop-
tychia, seed oils of C. ianthina are unique in having
nearly equal amounts of C8:0 and CIO:O. The
same pattern is reported for C. pinetorllm in this
 33
TABLE I

Fatty acid composition of Cuphea seed oils expressed as percentages of total fatty acid composition. Species are arranged according
to the classification of Koehne (1903)

Species Percentage of total fatty acids (%) Collection

8:0 10:0 12:0 14:0 16:0 18 :0 18: I 18:2 18:3

Sect. Cuphea
C. dellliculala Kunth 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 33.0 0.4 9.8 53.2 3.5 Venezuela: Fryxel/ 4381
Sect. Brachyalldra
C. me/anium R.Br. 0.0 4.7 85.9 7.6 0.9 0.0 0.2 0.7 0.0 Dom. Republic: Zanoni 38177
C. micralll!w Kunth 0.0 0.6 47.0 40.0 6.1 0.1 ...
' ~
0 3.8 0.0 Dom. Republic: Zanoni 41271
C. urens Koehne 0.0 20.1 75.6 3.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.7 0.0 Dom. Republic: Zanoni 41811
Sect. Elialldra
C. acin!folia St.Hil. 4.6 12.5 65.1 10.7 1.8 0.1 1.9 3.1 0.2 Brazil: Graham 951
C. con(enif!ora St.Hil. 3.0 15.2 73.3 3.7 1.0 0.1 0.9 2.6 0.1 Brazil: Graham 927
Sect. MeMlla
C. micropetala
var. micropetala Kunth 0.0 17.0 23.7 47.8 5.1 0.2 1.9 4.2 0.1 Mexico: Graham 1051
var. hirtel/a Koehne 0.0 22.3 27.1 38.7 4.1 0.2 J
_.~
0
4.9 0.4 Mexico: Graham 1048
C. rasilis Graham 0.0 13.0 23.7 49.0 5.0 0.3 3.6 5.1 0.2 Mexico: Graham 1027
C. salvadorensis Stand. 25.3 0.9 2.8 64.5 5.2 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.3 Mexico: Graham 1076
C. schumannii Koehne 3.0 93.8 1.0 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.3 1.0 0.1 Mexico: Graham 1090
Sect. Diploptychia
C. cyanea DC. 68.3 29.8 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.6 0.7 0.1 Mexico: Graham 1070
C. ianthina Koehne 50.1 45.9 0.3 0.1 0.7 0.1 1.0 1.8 0.1 Bolivia: Smith 13925
Sect. Omithocllphea
C. avigera Rob. & Seat. 23.0 42.5 0.4 0.2 5.0 2.2 21.6 4.9 0.2 Mexico: Graham 1053
o
C. pulcherrima Foster 94.4 0
J . .J 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.7 1.0 0.0 Mexico: Graham 1052

section with C8:0=48% and ClO:0=40% of total
fatty acid percentages (Graham et aL 1981). Other
species of the section produce either C8:0 or C I 0:0
oils.
A mechanism for production of mixed-
composition oils within a species has not been
determined. It has been suggested that species with
codominant fatty acids might have originated as
allopolyploids from species with different domi-
nant fatty acid oil types (Knapp, personal
communication, 1992). Chromosome numbers of
the species with mixed-composition oils, which
allow limited assessment of this idea. are available
for all mixed-composition species except C. ian-
thina (Graham, 1989b, 1992). Cuphea micrapetala
var. micrapetala and var. hirtella with different
fatty acid patterns have the same chromosome
number and are tetraploids with n = 16. Cuphea
pinetarum is a diploid with n = II. In C. micrantha
the two populations differing in fatty acid composi-
tion are both diploids with n = 8 (Graham et al.,
1981; Graham, unpublished data). On the basis of
this limited evidence, allopolyploidy does not
appear to be the causal factor in the mixed and
differing patterns of these three species.
Seed oil composition in section Ornithacuphea
is reported for the first time. Two morphologically
very similar species, C. avigera and C. pulcherrima,
are analysed and, surprisingly, have different major
fatty acids. C. pulcherrima, with 94.4% caprylic
acid, has the highest percentage of any single fatty
acid recorded to date in seeds of Cuphea. Cuphea
schumannii in section !vIelvilla also has nearly as
high percentage ofa single fatty acid, 93.8% capric
acid.
The remainder of the species analysed display
patterns of seed oil composition typical of those
reported earlier for their section, and strengthen
the observed, but as yet unexplained, trend toward
predominance of shorter chain length fatty acids
with evolutionary advancement in the genus
(Graham et al., 1981).
34
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge A. Graham,
P. Fryxeli. D. Smith and T. Zanoni for collection
of seeds analysed in this study and S. Knapp for
insightful suggestions for further investigation. The
\vork is supported in part by NSF grant BSR-
8806523 to S. Graham.
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