1979 Volume 27 Issue 2 Pages 468-474
A mucous polysaccharide, named Lilium-J-glucomannan, has been isolated from the bulbs of Lilium japonicum THUNB. It was homogeneous on glass-fiber paper electrophoresis, by ultracentrifugal analysis, and on gel chromatography. The component sugars of it were D-mannose and D-glucose in the molar ratio of 5 : 2, and its molecular weight was measured to be 318000. The O-acetyl groups in the glucomannan were identified and determined as the content of 5.0%. They were located in positions 2, 3, and 6 of a part of D-mannose units. Methylation, partial acetolysis, and periodate oxidation studies suggested that the glucomannan is mainly composed of β-1→4 linked aldohexopyranose residues and it contains about seventeen aldohexose units per one non-reducing group on the average. D-Mannose units occupy non-reducing terminal positions and branching points linked through positions 2 or 3. A few D-glucose residues are also present as branching points linked through position 3. The comparison of the structure and the property of the glucomannan with those of the other five Lilium-glucomannans was described.
