The common occurrence of furan fatty acids in plants.

The observation that F-acids (1) occur in rat chow initiated a search for F-acids in human diet. We observed that the amount of F-acids with a pentyl side chain in alpha-position taken up with a one-day diet correlates well with the amount of excreted degradation products, the pentyl urofuran acids (2), (3) and (4). Therefore it can be concluded that F-acids with a pentyl side chain are not produced in the human body but are introduced through the diet. The origin of F-acids carrying an alpha-propyl side chain is less clear. The amount of propyl-urofuran acids (2) and (3) excreted in urine was found in one case out of three to be five times higher than the amount of F-acids carrying a propyl group in alpha-position taken up by the diet. Therefore, it can presently not be excluded that a portion of the propyl F-acids is produced by the body. F-acids found in human food are mainly introduced into the body by vegetables and fruits. F-acids were found also in birch leaves in considerable amounts, as well as in grasses, dandelion and clover leaves. Thus, we can conclude that F-acids are common constituents of plants.