THE XYLOGALACTAN SULFATE FROM CHONDRIA-MACROCARPA (CERAMIALES, RHODOPHYTA)

A structure is proposed for the complex xylogalactan sulfate from Chondria macrocarpa. The hot-water extract of C. macrocarpa was desulfated or alkali-treated and Smith degraded. Constituent sugars and their substitution patterns were identified using a modified Hakamori methylation procedure suited to sulfated polysaccharides and a double hydrolysis-reduction protocol that yielded derivatives from all of the sugar residues, including the labile 3,6-anhydrogalactosyl residues. The polymer has an agar-type backbone of alternating 3-linked \-d- and 4-linked α-L-galactopyranosyl units. The d-residues are partially sulfated on O-2 (50%) and O-6 (20-30%). About 40% of the l-residues are present as the 3,6-anhydride and 25% as its 'precursor' l-galactose 6-sulfate. A significant proportion of the remaining l-galactosyl residues have both a d-xylopyranosyl substituent on O-3 and a sulfate ester on O-6 and are stable to alkali. © 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers.