THE COMPOSITION OF POLYSACCHARIDES IN PRIMARY WALLS OF LITCHI CHINENSIS SONN.

The structure of polysaccharides from the primary cell walls of Litchi chinensis pericarp tissues is determined using various approaches, including chromatographic, spectroscopic, chemical and enzymatic methods. These primary cell walls contain mainly pectins and fucosylated xyloglucans. Further, much smaller proportions of pure xylans were also characterized, which gives evidence for the presence of nonbranched pure xylans in eudicotyledons. As far as we are aware, this is the first report detailing the structure of polysaccharides in the primary cell walls of L. chinensis pericarp tissues. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Plant cell walls are important dietary fibers in human and animal nutrition. Cell wall polysaccharides are associated with fruit texture, and their degradation leads to fruit ripening. Polysaccharides are also used as food additives to modify product texture and are known to be biologically beneficial to human health. Knowing the cell wall polysaccharides of Litchi chinensis would provide avenues for its potential use in commercial food, cosmetics and medicinal or industrial products.