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Isolation of a β-1,3-glucan (laricinan) from compression wood of Larix laricina

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Summary

A β-d-(1→3)-linked glucan has been isolated from compression wood of tamarack [Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch]. The polysaccharide, which had [α]D + 17.6°, consumed 0.17 mole of periodate per glucose residue and gave a methyl derivative which consisted of 115 2,4,6-tri- and 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-methyl-d-glucose residues in a ratio of 17.8:1. Partial acid hydrolysis yielded a series of β-d-(1→3)-linked oligosaccharides, while enzymic hydrolysis with a β-1,3-glucanase afforded glucose, laminaribiose, and laminaritriose. The glucan occurred in amounts varying from 2 to 4% in compression wood of this and other conifer species and was present in the wall of both tracheids and ray cells. It is proposed that this structural polysaccharide be designated as laricinan to distinguish it from callose and the various β-1,3-glucans in lower plants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cellulose Research Institute, State University College of Forestry, Syracuse, N. Y.

    G. C. Hoffmann & T. E. Timell

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  1. G. C. Hoffmann
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  2. T. E. Timell
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Hoffmann, G.C., Timell, T.E. Isolation of a β-1,3-glucan (laricinan) from compression wood of Larix laricina . Wood Science and Technology 4, 159–162 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00365301

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00365301

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