Identification of wax esters of the fresh-water green alga chlorella kessleri by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Abstract Wax esters were detected in the fresh-water green alga Chlorella kessleri cultivated heterotrophically and their individual molecular classes of up to 50 carbon atoms were identified by means of capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The wax esters are composed from very long-chain fatty acids up to dotriacontanoic acid and alcohols up to 13-eicosenol with hexadecanol as a major representative. Monoenic acids have an unusual position of the double bond, namely at the n -18 position.