Rapid acid hydrolysis of plant cell wall polysaccharides and simplified quantitative determination of their neutral monosaccharides by gas-liquid chromatography

ABSTRACT A procedure for the quantitative determination of 5β-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one in urine is described. After acid hydrolysis of the pregnanolone-conjugates in urine, the free steroids are extracted with toluene. Pregnanolone is isolated in a pure form as its acetate; after chromatographic separation of the free steroids on alumina, the fraction containing pregnanolone is acetylated and rechromatographed on alumina. Quantitative determination of the isolated pregnanolone-acetate is carried out with the aid of the infrared spectrum recorded by a micro KBr-wafermethod. The reliability of the method under various conditions is discussed under the headings, specificity, accuracy, precision and sensitivity. It is possible to determine 30–40 μg pregnanolone in a 24-hours urine portion with a precision of 25%.

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Plant Cell Wall Hydration and Plant Physiology: An Exploration of the Consequences of Direct Effects of Water Deficit on the Plant Cell Wall

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10071263 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 1263

Author(s):

David Stuart Thompson ◽

Azharul Islam

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Water Content ◽

Bacterial Cellulose ◽

Plant Cell ◽

Cell Walls ◽

Plant Cell Wall ◽

Plant Cell Walls ◽

Cell Wall Polysaccharides ◽

Degree Of Hydration ◽

Cellulose Composites

The extensibility of synthetic polymers is routinely modulated by the addition of lower molecular weight spacing molecules known as plasticizers, and there is some evidence that water may have similar effects on plant cell walls. Furthermore, it appears that changes in wall hydration could affect wall behavior to a degree that seems likely to have physiological consequences at water potentials that many plants would experience under field conditions. Osmotica large enough to be excluded from plant cell walls and bacterial cellulose composites with other cell wall polysaccharides were used to alter their water content and to demonstrate that the relationship between water potential and degree of hydration of these materials is affected by their composition. Additionally, it was found that expansins facilitate rehydration of bacterial cellulose and cellulose composites and cause swelling of plant cell wall fragments in suspension and that these responses are also affected by polysaccharide composition. Given these observations, it seems probable that plant environmental responses include measures to regulate cell wall water content or mitigate the consequences of changes in wall hydration and that it may be possible to exploit such mechanisms to improve crop resilience.

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PUL-Mediated Plant Cell Wall Polysaccharide Utilization in the Gut Bacteroidetes

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22063077 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 3077

Author(s):

Zhenzhen Hao ◽

Xiaolu Wang ◽

Haomeng Yang ◽

Tao Tu ◽

Jie Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Gut Microbiota ◽

Plant Cell ◽

Plant Cell Wall ◽

Cell Wall Polysaccharide ◽

Prominent Feature ◽

Cell Wall Polysaccharides ◽

Gut Microbial Community

Plant cell wall polysaccharides (PCWP) are abundantly present in the food of humans and feed of livestock. Mammalians by themselves cannot degrade PCWP but rather depend on microbes resident in the gut intestine for deconstruction. The dominant Bacteroidetes in the gut microbial community are such bacteria with PCWP-degrading ability. The polysaccharide utilization systems (PUL) responsible for PCWP degradation and utilization are a prominent feature of Bacteroidetes. In recent years, there have been tremendous efforts in elucidating how PULs assist Bacteroidetes to assimilate carbon and acquire energy from PCWP. Here, we will review the PUL-mediated plant cell wall polysaccharides utilization in the gut Bacteroidetes focusing on cellulose, xylan, mannan, and pectin utilization and discuss how the mechanisms can be exploited to modulate the gut microbiota.

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