The occurrence of l-galactose in snail galactans

✍ Scribed by Hagen Bretting; Günter Jacobs; Ingrid Benecke; Wilfried A. König; Joachim Thiem

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1985
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 717 KB
• Volume: 139
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-6215
• DOI: 10.1016/0008-6215(85)90023-0

✦ Synopsis

The occurrence of L-galactose (L-Gal) was investigated in twelve preparations of snail galactans from nine different species. L-Gal (ll-15%) was found not only in members of the family Helicidae, a highly developed group among the Pulmonatu, but was detected also in a galactan of the oldest phylogenetic subclass of snails in the Prosobrunchiata. To determine the position of the L-Gal residues, the galactans of Arianta arbustorum, Cepaea nemoralis, and Helix pomatia were methylated and hydrolysed, and the partially methylated Gal derivatives were isolated. Each derivative was O-demethylated and the ratio of D-and L-galactose was determined by g.1.c. of the trifluoroacetylated methyl glycosides using a chiral stationary phase. L-Gal (22-34%) was detected only in the tetra-O-methyl fractions, and hence L-Gal occupies exclusively terminal non-reducing positions.