Occurrence of myo-inositol and alkyl-substituted polysaccharide in the prey-trapping mucilage of Drosera capensis.

ABSTRACT: The chemical composition of the exudate mucilage droplets of the carnivorous plant Drosera capensis was investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The mucilage was found to contain beside a very large molecular weight polysaccharide a significant amount of myo-inositol. It appears that myo-inositol escaped detection due to the commonly applied methodology on the chemical analysis of plant mucilage, such as dialysis, precipitation of polysaccharide component with alcohol, acid hydrolysis and detection of the resultant monosaccharide (aldose) units. The possible functions of myo-inositol in the mucilage droplets and the fate after being washed off from the leaf tentacles are proposed. On the polysaccharide component, the presence of methyl ester and alkyl chain-like moieties

SUBMITTER: Kokubun T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5610204 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature