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Background
Definition:
•
The major polysaccharide in aloe is glucomannan
h h
d f
(
) d l
w ic is consiste o mannose major an g ucose
(minor) with 1,4‐β‐linked backbone.
•
The mannose moieties are highly acetylated and are
referred to Acemannan in literature.
2/3/6-OAc
2/3/6-OAc
Glc
p
x
O
HO
HO
O
HOH
2
C
O
HO
OH
O
HOH
2
C
O
HO
HO
O
HOH
2
C
O
Man
p
Man
p
y
z
1
2
3
4 5
6
Structure of the major
aloe polysaccharides
Background
Definition (
cont’d
):
•
The molecular weight (MW) of aloe polysaccharides can be in
th
f 10 000 2 000 000 D lt
e range o ,
‐ ,
,
a ons:
–
Unprocessed fresh aloe polysaccharides usually has the MW around
or over 2 million Daltons;
–
Less processed commercial aloe polysaccharide MW can be in the
range of 200,000‐500,000 Daltons;
–
Highly processed commercial aloe products contain aloe
polysaccharide MW can be lower to 10,000‐100,000 Daltons;
•
Degrees of acetylation on the aloe polysaccharides are varied
depending on process;
•
High MW polysaccharides may affect the accuracy of results
due to the effect of solubility and viscosity, etc.