Plant Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of the chemistry of polysaccharides. This book discusses the methods used for the isolation, purification, and structural determination of the various types of polysaccharide. Organized into 14 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the almost universal occurrence of natural macromolecules in living organisms where they form a variety of functions. This text then examines the isolation of polysaccharides, which involves solubilization in aqueous solvents or in dipolar aprotic solvents. Other chapters consider the industrial applications of polysaccharides and of their derivatives. This book discusses as well the procedure for the isolation of wood polysaccharides, which involves the preparation of a holocellulose by the selective solubilization of the lignin. The final chapter deals with the classes of complex natural polymers in which the nature of the linkage of sugar units to other structural units have been established. This book is a valuable resource for biologists.