Work

Detection of Inulin, a Prebiotic Polysaccharide, in Maple Syrup

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Maple syrup is a widely consumed plant-derived natural sweetener produced by concentrating xylem sap collected from certain maple (Acer) species. During thermal evaporation of water, natural phytochemical components are concentrated in maple syrup. The polymeric components from maple syrup were isolated by ethanol precipitation, dialysis, and anion exchange chromatography and structurally characterized by glycosyl composition analysis, glycosyl linkage analysis, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Among the maple syrup polysaccharides, one neutral polysaccharide was characterized as inulin with a broad molecular weight distribution, representing the first isolation of this prebiotic carbohydrate from a xylem sap. In addition, two acidic polysaccharides with structural similarity were identified as arabinogalactans derived from rhamnogalacturonan type I pectic polysaccharides.

Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b03139

Authors: Jiadong Sun, Hang Ma, Navindra P. Seeram, David C. Rowley

Institution: University of Rhode Island

Language: English

Topic: Plant-Derived Bioactive Compounds

Subfield: Organic Chemistry

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of General Medical Sciences