A maioria dos estudos sobre polinização focalizam as interações que envolvem recompensas como néctar e pólen. Nosso grupo de pesquisa, entretanto tem se dedicado à química de recompensas florais como resinas e óleos florais. Neste trabalho, estamos relatando a composição química dos óleos florais de Oncidium pubes que contêm di e triacilglicerois nos quais o glicerol está esterificado com um ou dois resíduos de ácido acético e um ácido graxo. O padrão de substituição dos dracilgliceróis foi sugerido com base nas analises espectroscópicas e por comparação com os 3 compostos sintetisados a partir do D-manitol, ácido acético e ácido oleico Finalmente, nossos resultados forneceram evidências químicas de que a polinização de Oncidium pubes não está baseada num mecanismo de atração-engano dos visitantes florais mas na sua recompensa com lipídios florais. Este é o primeiro relato sobre a composição química dos óleos florais de Oncidium pubes (Orchidaceae). Most of the flower-pollinator interactions are based on rewards as pollen and nectar. Our group however, has been focusing on the chemical composition of unusual rewards like floral resins and floral oils. We are now reporting the chemistry of the floraloils of Oncidium pubes which are composed of diacylglycerols and triacylglycerols possessing one or two acetyl residues and one long chain fatty acid. The substitution pattern of some of the diacylglycerols was inferred to be 1, 3 based on spectroscopic analyses and comparison with 3 different synthetic compounds obtained from D-mannitol, oleic acid and acetic acid. The fatty acid residues possess double bond and/or acetoxy group as functional groups. Finally our results provided chemical evidences that pollination of Oncidium pubes is not based upon an attraction-deception system but on floral lipids and this is the first time this has ever been mentioned in the literature.

Despite various direct transmethylation methods having been published and applied to analysis of meat fatty acid (FA) composition, there are still conflicting ideas about the best method for overcoming all the difficulties posed by analysis of complex mixtures of FA in meat. This study performed a systematic investigation of factors affecting a one-step method for quantitative analysis of fatty acids in freeze-dried animal tissue. Approximately 280 reactions, selected using factorial design, were performed to investigate the effect of temperature, reaction time, acid concentration, solvent volume, sample weight and sample moisture. The reaction yield for different types of fatty acids, including saturated, unsaturated (cis, trans and conjugated) and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids was determined. The optimised condition for one-step transmethylation was attained with four millilitres 5% sulfuric acid in methanol (as acid catalyst), four millilitres toluene (as co-solvent), 300 mg of freeze-dried meat and incubation at 70 °C for 2 h, with interim mixing by inversion at 30, 60 and 90 min for 15 s. The optimised condition was applied to meat samples from different species, covering a broad range of fat content and offers a simplified and reliable method for analysis of fatty acids from meat samples.