Occurrence of Two Branched Penta-Amines in Legume Seeds Has Not Been Confirmed

We detected N 4 -bis(aminopropyl)spermidine [3(3)(3)4], a quaternary branched penta-amine and N 5 -aminobutylhomospermine [4(4)44], a tertiary branched penta-amine by liquid chromatography and gas chromatography of the concentrated/purified polyamine fraction acid-extracted from the legume seeds of Crotalaria spectabilis, and other legume seeds of Vicia sativa (narrow-leaved vetch), Vicia villosa (hairy vetch) and Phaseolus coccineus (runner bean), respectively, and we have reported tentatively the natural occurrence of the two penta-amines in legume seeds. We validated and evaluated the analyses of the two penta-amines in our previous studies and showed here some unreproducible polyamine profiles among the seeds supplied from markets, which we cultivated and collected in fields. Contamination of the branched penta-amines during concentration/purification to obtain polyamine fraction before performing the two chromatographical analyses, was not excluded. Therefore, the natural occurrence of the two branched penta-amines in leguminous plant seeds has not been confirmed.