Separation and partial purification of wax and fatty alcohol from Okinawan sugar cane rind lipids

A composition analysis of Okinawan sugar cane rind materials was conducted, and it was found that the main components were lipids, crude fiber and water indicating about 27%, 19.6% and 14.6%, respectively. The lipids were effectively extracted from rind materials by benzene. Wax (18%) and fatty alcohol (8%) were found to be the main components, totaling up to 96% of the lipids. Separation and partial purification of wax and fatty alcohol were attempted by means of silica gel column chromatography, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), infrared (IR) absorption spectra and gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major components of the wax were considered to be two compounds with the molecular weights of 408 (C-26) and 436 (C-28), and those of fatty alcohol were di-ol with molecular weights of 440 (C-29) and 468 (C-31). Both wax and fatty alcohol were purified by rechromatography on a silica gel column and the samples obtained seemed to be satisfactory for use in experimental rats' diets.