Fatty acid composition of root and shoot samples of some Astragalus L. (Fabaceae) taxa growing in the east and southeast of Turkey

The fatty acid compositions of root and shoot samples of some Astragalus L. (Fabaceae) taxa [A. gossypinus Fisch., A. amblolepis Fisch., A. edmondi (Kuntze) Sheld., A. tigridis Boiss., A. aleppicus Boiss., A. suberosus Banks Sol. subsp. suberosus Banks Sol., A. gummifer Labill., A. diphtherites Fenzl var. diphtherites Fenzl, and A. gymnalopecias Rech.f.] growing in the east and southeast of Turkey were determined by gas chromatography. Astragalus species contained palmitic (C 16:0) (20.13%–53.8%), linoleic (C 18:2ω- 6) (13.25%–41.06%), oleic (C 18:1ω-9) (5.78%–25.7%), linolenic (C 18:3ω-3) (6.1%–22.89%), and stearic acid (C 18:0) (5.16%–13.1%) in the roots and linolenic (8.9%–51.42%), palmitic (20.16%–44.88%), linoleic (7.34%–27.57%), oleic (2.45%–17.91%), and stearic acid (4.28%–8.31%) in the shoots as major components. In this study the fatty acid composition of Astragalus species showed uniform fatty acid patterns. Palmitic and stearic acids were the major saturated and linoleic and linolenic acids were the major unsaturated fatty acids in the roots and shoots.