The study of fatty acid composition in Cockscomb (.elosia cristata (L.) Kuntze)

Cockscomb (.elosia cristata (L.) Kuntze) is a well-known decorative plant belonging to the Amaranthaceae L. family. It is used in South East Asia folk medicine as an anesthetic, anti-microbial, hemostatic, tonic and anti-inflammatory drug. Some 11 to 12 fatty acids have been identified in cockscomb roots, leaves, stem, herb, flowers and seeds, and their quantitative content has been determined by gas chromatography. Accordingly, in all herb samples, unsaturated fatty acids dominated, forming 68.18 to 75.93% of total content. Mostly, these compounds were accumulated in the roots. Among the unsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid prevailed in roots, stems, herb, flowers and seeds, whereas linolenic acid prevailed in the leaves. The highest content of linoleic acid (45.57 +/- 1.14%) was found in the seeds, while that of linolenic acid (53.63 +/- 0.53%) was found in the leaves. The obtained results will be applied in the development of drugs on the basis of cockscomb herb lipophilic fraction.