Distribution of aliphatic des-A-triterpenoids in the Dajiuhu peat deposit, southern China

Aliphatic des-A-triterpenoids have been tentatively assigned in samples taken from a 260 cm thick peat sequence from the Dajiuhu Basin of southern China using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The compounds, possessing the carbon skeletons of oleanane, ursane or lupane, are generally considered as the microbial degradation products of plant triterpenoids under anoxic conditions. Abundant aliphatic des-A-triterpenoids were observed only in peat samples during the transitional period from the last glaciation to the early Holocene (9.5-11.6 cal 14C ka BP). Among these, des-A-lupane is the only saturated ring A-degraded compound, whilst mono- and di-unsaturated des-A-triterpenes are dominated by oleanane and ursane derivatives. The mono- and di-unsaturated des-A-triterpenes show a strong correlation (R2 0.94) in abundance, indicating that they may be derived from the same source or process. Des-A-lupane shows no correlation in abundance with the mono- or di-unsaturated des-A-triterpenes (R2 < 0.25) and may be derived from a different source or process in the catchment. The period with abundant aliphatic des-A-triterpenoids corresponds to the interval with relatively high sedimentation rate (> 0.3 mm per year). These data indicate that the abundance of aliphatic des-A-triterpenoids in the Dajiuhu peat deposit in the early Holocene may result from the prevailing reducing conditions in the water table or surficial sediment and/or rapid preservation of the early diagenetic products. Our study highlights the potential application of des-A-triterpenes in the reconstruction of palaeoenvironments based on peat sequences.