Acer truncatum Bunge (ATB) is an excellent edible woody oil tree species since it bears a huge amount of fruit and has strong adaptability to be widely cultivated. Selecting an optimal cultivation region for ATB is crucial to improving China\'s woody oil industrialization. Chemical analysis, correlation analysis, and affiliation function values were used in the present research to systematically analyze the phenotypic traits, organic compound content, and seed oil chemical composition of the seeds of ATB from nine regions. The average contents of oil, protein, and soluble sugar in ATB seeds were 43.30%, 17.40%, and 4.57%, respectively. Thirteen fatty acids were identified from ATB seed oil, the highest content of which was linoleic acid (37.95%) and nervonic acid content was 5-7%. The maximum content of unsaturated fatty acids in ATB seed oil was 90.09%. Alpha-tocopherol content was up to 80.75 mg/100 g. The degree of variation in seed quality traits (25.96%) was stronger than in morphological traits (14.55%). Compared to environmental factors, the phenotypic traits of seeds contribute more to organic compounds and fatty acids. Combining the values of the indicator affiliation functions, Gilgarang, Tongliao, Inner Mongolia was selected as the optimal source of ATB for fruit applications from nine regions.

Acer truncatum Bunge is now widely cultivated throughout the world. Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is a potential target in the treatment of both obesity and cancer. Only a few FAS inhibitors have been reported. In this study, the inhibitory effect of A. truncatum seed coat (ESA) on FAS and the inhibition mechanisms were investigated using a FAS activity assay and an enzyme kinetics study. The main chemicals of ESA were analyzed with UPLC-MS/MS. The effects of ESA on 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation were investigated using Oil red O staining. We first identified seven main compounds (quinic acid, malic acid, gentisic acid, procyanidin dimer, procyanidin trimer, catechin, and quercetin) from 50% ethanol extracts of seed coats of A. truncatum (ESAs), which were then found to inhibit 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation at the concentration of 50 μg/mL. ESA obviously reduced the visible triglyceride droplets accumulation, and dramatically decreased the number of the adipocytes at a comparatively high concentration. It is suggested that the effects are due to the inhibition of FAS by ESA; FAS activity is inhibited by ESA at a half inhibition concentration (IC50) of 0.57 μg/mL, which is lower than that of classically known FAS inhibitors. Meanwhile, ESA displayed different inhibition kinetics and reacting sites for FAS. These results provide new clues for the development of novel products for obesity treatment and a scientific basis for the full use of byproducts for future industrial production of vegetable oil.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers, c9, t11-CLA and t10, c12-CLA, have been proved to exhibit excellent biomedical properties for potential use in anti-cancer applications and in reducing obesity. Acer truncatum Bunge (ATB), which is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, including oleic acid, linoleic acid, and nervonic acid, is a new resource for edible oil. In the present study, we developed a new method for producing two CLA isomers from ATB-seed oil by fermentation using Lactobacillus plantarum CGMCC8198 (LP8198), a novel probiotics strain. Polymerase chain reaction results showed that there was a conserved linoleate isomerase (LIase) gene in LP8198, and its transcription could be induced by ATB-seed oil. Analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that the concentration of c9, t11-CLA and t10, c12-CLA in ATB-seed oil could be increased by about 9- and 2.25-fold, respectively, after being fermented by LP8198.