C31-C34 methylated squalenes from a Bolivian strain of Botryococcus braunii.

Three new triterpenes, synthesized by a Bolivian strain of the green microalga Botryococcus braunii, were isolated and their chemical structures determined by 1D and 2D NMR, and mass spectrometry. These compounds are tri-, di-, and mono-methylsqualenes, co-occurring with the previously identified tetramethylsqualene and some C(30)-C(32) botryococcenes. In this strain, methylated squalenes constitute up to 24% of the total hydrocarbons and 4.