A re-examination and partial characterisation of polysaccharides released by mild acid hydrolysis from the chlorite-treated leaves of Sphagnum papillosum

Mild acid hydrolysis was used to release polysaccharides from the chlorite-treated leaves of Sphagnum papillosum. These polysaccharides, collectively known as sphagnan, were physically and chemically characterised. No evidence was found of the presence of a previously described 5-keto-d-mannuronic acid (5-KMA) monomer in sphagnan, or in the chlorite-treated leaves from which sphagnan was extracted. After fractionation by anion-exchange chromatography the majority of polysaccharides were similar to rhamnogalacturonan I-type pectins. They were highly branched and had a weight average molecular weight of 3.9 × 10 g/mol.