Abstract
Reaction products of sugars with strongly basic anion-exchange resin (Dowex 1×2, OH- and BO2- forms) were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as trimethylsilyl derivatives and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). When a suspension of Dowex 1×2 (OH- or BO2- form) in an aqueous solution of glucose was shaken mechanically, a part of glucopyranose was transformed into glucofuranose besides epimerizing to fructose and degrading to arabinose. The resin (BO2- form) was a more effective reagent for this transformation than the resin (OH- form). Although arabinonic, erythronic, glyceric, glycolic, and formic acids were detected in the reaction products of glucose or its epimers with the resin (OH- form) by HPLC and GC-MS, lactic acid was not detected. On the other hand, only a small amount of arabinonic and formic acids were found in the reaction products with the resin (BO2- form). A hypothetical mechanism of organic acids formation from glucose and its epimers was postulated.
