Abstract
Water, DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) and alkali solution were used as the solvents of polysaccharides from a preparative meal of bamboo shoot. From the polysaccharides extracted with the individual solvents, starch and the concomitant protein were removed by enzymic hydrolysis with α-amylase and protease, respectively. The yields and properties of the resulting water-soluble polysaccharides were compared with each other. As a result, DMSO was found to give water-soluble polysaccharides in higher yield comparable to extraction with water. Therefore, DMSO seems to be useful as the solvent of water-soluble polysaccharides in plant cell wall.
