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Content of Carbohydrates in Tropical Rainforest Nectars of Marantaceae Using High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography

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Summary

The carbohydrate content of floral nectars of 12 Marantaceae species was analyzed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). The main interest was not only to determine the sugar content of the nectar produced by the flowers but also to find potential differences within the genera and species. A total of 131 samples of this plant family, which grows in the tropical understory rainforest, were collected in the Golfo Dulce Region, Costa Rica, and analyzed. The nectar sugars found in the neotropical samples comprised melezitose, fructose, sucrose, glucose, and xylose (listed ascending in hRF values), whereof the main sugars were sucrose, glucose, and fructose. The nectars were successfully analyzed with regard to their individual sugar composition and classified according to their ratios. The overall mean sugar content of the studied species was 36%. The highest sugar contents of ≥40% were found in the nectar of the species Calathea lutea, Calathea donnell-smithii, Calathea marantifolia, Hylaeanthe hoffmannii, and Pleiostachya pruinosa. All species studied showed a ratio of sucrose to glucose and fructose between 1.3 for Calathealutea and 11.2 for Calathea donnell-smithii and, hence, were classified as sucrose dominated. HPTLC was found to be a good analytical method for nectar analysis, which took less than 1.5 h for 21 samples analyzed in parallel (ca. 4 min per sample).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Food Science, Institute of Nutritional Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Alexander Ruppel & Gertrud E. Morlock

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  1. Alexander Ruppel
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  2. Gertrud E. Morlock
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Correspondence to Gertrud E. Morlock.

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Ruppel, A., Morlock, G.E. Content of Carbohydrates in Tropical Rainforest Nectars of Marantaceae Using High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography. JPC-J Planar Chromat 28, 162–166 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1556/JPC.28.2015.2.13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/JPC.28.2015.2.13

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