Oligosaccharide Generation in Acidic Sugar Media

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Abstract
Oligosaccharides were shown to be present in beet medium invert sugar, but the origin of these molecules has remained obscure. The present study reveals that oligosaccharides are not a contaminant of purified beet sucrose. They appear during sucrose hydrolysis but are not specific to inversion. Sugars in a solution containing hydrogen ions generate oligosaccharides whose nature and proportion is determined by the original sugar composition. Because the sugar composition changes constantly during the course of sucrose inversion, the oligosaccharide pattern of a medium invert sugar is determined by the sugar distribution existing when the hydrolysis is stopped. As a consequence, the oligomer composition of a solution does not depend on the botanical origin of the sugar. Nearly identical oligosaccharide profiles were obtained from beet, cane, and citrus saccharides inverted in the laboratory or obtained from an industrial source. The amount of oligomers generated by an acidic solution increases exponentially with the sugar concentration. In diluted medium invert sugar solutions or in single-strength juices, the equilibrium between monomers and oligomers shifts toward depolymerization and eventually leaves only monosaccharides. In concentrated solutions of sugars or citrus juices, on the other hand, the process is directed toward oligomerization. These reactions occur slowly at room temperature but are greatly sped up by temperature. Therefore, results from the quantitation of oligosaccharides should be carefully interpreted if an accurate monitoring of medium invert sugar adulteration is to be performed. The nature of the product (single-strength or concentrate) and the types of treatment to which the product was submitted must be considered. Although monitoring of oligosaccharides provides a rapid method for the detection of added invert sugar, some results may need to be corroborated by methods such as isotopic analysis.

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