Abstract
Examinations were made on the structure of the amorphous trisaccharide C, [α]D16+98.3°, isolated from the air-dried Radix Ginseng. This saccharide consists of 2 moles of glucose and 1 mole of fructose, is hydrolyzed by invertase into fructose and maltose, and by pancreatin into glucose and sucrose. One mole of this trisaccharide consumes 4 moles of periodate and forms 1 mole of formic acid. Hydrolysis of its undecamethyl derivative affords 4, 6-tetra-O-methyl-D-fructofuranose, 2, 3, 4, 6-tetra-O-methyl-D-glucopyranose, and 2, 3, 6-tri-O-methyl-D-glucopyranose, and these methylated sugars were isolated by silica gel chromatography and identified. These experimental evidences confirmed this trisaccharide C to be α-maltosyl-β-D-fructofuranoside (Chart 1).
