Characterization of polysaccharides from <i>Eremurus hissaricus</i> roots by FTIR spectroscopy

Abstract

The structure of water'soluble gluco' and galactomannans (GlcMan and GalMan) isolated from the roots of several Eremurus'related plant species has been studied previously. This article characterizes polysaccharides and other extraction products from the root tubers of Eremurus hissaricus by Fourier' transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using an attenuated total reflectance (ATR) accessory. Polysaccharide samples were purified from protein substances with the Sevage method and discoloured through a polyamide column. In the FTIR spectra, the main peaks attributed to asymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations of CH2 of the pyranose ring (for GluMan - 2886, 1373, 1244 cm-1; for GalGluMan - 2923, 1370, 1238 cm-1) were enhanced by purification after removing bound protein impurities. The KnownitAll and IR-Pal 2 software applications were used to examine the spectra of a sample of purified GalGluMan in the studied polysaccharides. The results show that the intensity of the absorption maximum decreased at 1732 cm-1. At the same time, at 1552.92 cm-1, a new band appeared that refers to the valence vibrations of carboxyl (CO) or nitroso (NO) groups in the purified polysaccharide. This band appeared as a result of the Maillard reaction between the protein and the reducing end of the polysaccharide unit. The intensity of the bands in the 1238-1244 cm-1 region also decreased in the purified samples, which may be due to the elimination of a small fraction of protein. The use of FTIR spectroscopy allows the process of purifying watersoluble GluMan and acid-soluble polysaccharide of GalGluMan from acrylamide impurities to be characterized timely and accurately. Additionally, this method allows a comparative estimation of functional groups in polysaccharides of the root tubers of E. hissaricus.