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Published on: April 11, 2016
Chemical characteristics of a polysaccharide from Porphyra capensis (Rhodophyta)
Quanbin Zhang1, Huimin Qi, Tingting Zhao
1Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China. qbzhang@ms.qdio.ac.cn
Abstract:
The structure of a polysaccharide from the red seaweed, Porphyra capensis, growing along the coast of Namibia and South Africa was investigated. Algae growing at different sites and collected at different times gave a polysaccharide extract with similar chemical components. FTIR and NMR spectral analysis showed that the polysaccharide from P. capensis had a typical porphyran structure. It has the linear backbone of alternating 3-linked beta-D-galactose and 4-linked alpha-L-galactose-6-sulfate or 3,6-anhydro-alpha-L-galactose units. The ratio of alpha-L-galactose-6-sulfate and the 3,6-anhydrogalactose is 1.2:1, as reflected by a 1H NMR spectrum. A high degree of methylation occurred at the C-6 position of the D-galactose units. The degree of methylation was 0.64 for the D-galactose residues.
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