STRUCTURE OF A GALACTURONAN FROM SUNFLOWER PECTIC ACID

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Abstract
Fractions of sunflower pectic acid containing 89.8%, 94.2%, and 91.4% of D-galacturonic acid were carboxyl reduced as their methyl or ethylene glycol esters by potassium borohydride. Critical assessment of the effects of three different solvents (water, 80% aqueous dimethyl sulfoxide, and 80% aqueous methanol) on the efficiency of reduction showed that the latter solvent was best. The reductions caused a decrease in the degree of polymerization from 270 to 21. Measurement of the rates of hydrolysis of partially reduced pectic acids containing 90%, 41.6%, 19.9%, 11.0%, and 0.65% of D-galacturonic acid showed that the rate of hydrolysis was directly related to the proportion of galacturonosidic linkages present. Methylation and hydrolysis of the carboxyl-reduced pectic acid fractions yielded 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-methyl-D-galactose and 2,3,6-tri-O-methyl-D-galactose in an approximate molar ratio of 1:20. Results of the periodate oxidation of the carboxyl-reduced pectic acid supported the conclusion inferred from the methylation results that the pectic acid was a linear polymer of 1 → 4 linked α-D-galacturonic acid units.