Abstract
Honeybees were breeded in a cage which was so designed as to prevent admixture with the nectar and pollen in the fields, and were fed exclusively upon 40% sucrose solution.
Enzymic reaction on sucrose was carried out with the invertase extracted from the honey which was produced by the caged bees. The resulting trisaccharide was isolated for examination and was found to be erlose.
The extracted invertase was an α-glucosidase with maltase activity and indicated the activity of transglucosidase.
Erlose is formed presumably by transglucosidation with invertase of bees in which the α-D-glucosyl group of one sucrose is transferred to the fourth carbon in glucose moiety of other sucrose.
The optimum conditions of enzyme for the transferring action were: pH, 6.0; temperature, 30°C; and sucrose concentration, 0.25M.
Hydrolysis of sucrose and formation of erlose by honeybees took place mostly in earier period (within 6 hr) of honey formation, and no substantial changes in sugar contents were observed in the ripening period (after 24 hr).
