A Crystalline Decomposition Product of Starch by a Bacillus. IV

A New Hexasaccharide

Abstract

Digestion of starch by the newly isolated bacteria gave a new crystalline dextrin hexasaccharide which was methylated. This methylation by ordinary means gave a crude methyl compound containing 32% of CH₃O radical, which was brought to a completely methylated compound by treatment with metallic sodium in liquid ammonia to Na saccharate with subsequent treatment with CH₃I. The methyl compound wes obtained as needle crystals containing 1.5mol. ether of crystallization when recrystallized from ether. This crystal gradually effloresced in air. Crystals not containing ether melted at 98-103°, with [α]_D=+160.5° (in CHCl₃).