The estimation of carbohydrates in plant extracts by anthrone

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Abstract
The anthrone reaction has been investigated with a range of naturally occurring hexoses and pentoses. The course of color production varies widely with different sugars, and the test is much less sensitive for pentoses than for hexoses. Sugar mixtures give results agreeing closely with those expected from the color production of the individual sugars. Under the conditions used here there is no evidence of serious interaction of hexoses and pentoses. For the estimation of soluble sugars in plant extracts the method yields results comparable with those obtained with the copper reagent, but includes the sugars of stable glycosides which may constitute a large proportion of the soluble carbohydrates in some plant tissues. Used in conjunction with chromatographic identification, the anthrone method is of particular value when limited quantities of tissue are available.[long dash]Auth. summ.