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Updated: Jul 27, 2025

The Extraction of Liver Glycogen Molecules for Glycogen Structure Determination
Published on: February 8, 2022
Molecular structure and characteristics of phytoglycogen, glycogen and amylopectin subjected to mild acid hydrolysis
Bo Pan1, Ningjing Zhao1, Qiuqi Xie1
1State Key Laboratory of Food Science & Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214122, P. R. China.
Abstract:
The structure and properties of phytoglycogen and glycogen subjected to acid hydrolysis was investigated using amylopectin as a reference. The degradation took place in two stages and the degree of hydrolysis was in the following order: amylopectin > phytoglycogen > glycogen. Upon acid hydrolysis, the molar mass distribution of phytoglycogen or glycogen gradually shifted to the smaller and broadening distribution region, whereas the distribution of amyopectin changed from bimodal to monomodal shape. The kinetic rate constant for depolymerization of phytoglycogen, amylopectin, and glycogen were 3.45 × 10-5/s, 6.13 × 10-5/s, and 0.96 × 10-5/s, respectively. The acid-treated sample had the smaller particle radius, lower percentage of α-1,6 linkage as well as higher rapidly digestible starch fractions. The depolymerization models were built to interpret the structural differences of glucose polymer during acid treatment, which would provide guideline to improve the structure understanding and precise application of branched glucan with desired properties.
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