Carbohydrate fractions of Themeda triandra (red grass). I. Free sugars and water soluble polysaccharides

Abstract

Sucrose, glucose and fructose were the major free sugars in the leaves, stems and inflorescences of T. triandra, while small quantities of rhamnose, xylose, galactose, mannose, ribose, cellobiose, sedoheptulose and erythrose were also present. Several polysaccharides and components with lower molecular weights, possibly dextrins and oligosaccharides, were extracted by water at room temperature (20°C) and boiling point (96°C). These carbohydrates were biosynthesized from a number of different monosaccharides. No fructans were found, confirming T. triandra's classification among the panicoid grasses which mainly store reserve carbohydrates in the form of sucrose and starch.