Determining sugar composition of food gum polysaccharides by HPTLC

Most commercially important food gyms, including gum arabic, guar gu m, and carrageenan are polysaccharides which consist of multiple sugars, including uronic acids. For the first time, the sugars in these and other gums were determined by comparison of RF values with standards by HPTLC on Si 50000 plates after acid hydrolysis of the polysaccharides. The solvent system consisted of npropanol:water:triethylamine:30% NH3 (80:20:0.2:4). Analysis was rapid, as the separations were accomplished using a single plate development and the sugars were located by simple charring. Sugar separations on Si 50000 with this solvent system are more efficient than others and provide the additional advantage over bonded-phase silicas in that sugars can be detected using aggressive methods.