STRUCTURE OF CORDIA ROTHII Roem AND Schult MUCILAGE – PART II: METHYLATION AND PERIODATE OXIDATIONS STUDIES

Abstract

Completely methylated Cordia roth i i mucilage on hydrolysis has been found to yield 2,3,4,6–tetra–O–methyl – n-galactose (3 moles), 3, 4–di–O–methyl–L–rhamnose (2 moles), 2, 3, 6–tri–O–methyl–n–galactose (1 mole), 2, 3, 4–tri–O–methyl–D–galactose (3 moles), 4–O–methyl–L–rhamnose (3 moles) and 2, 3–di–O–methyl–n–galacturonic acid (6 moles) along with traces of unmethylated D–galactose and mono–O–methylgalacturonic acid. Periodate oxidation of the mucilage results in the uptake of 3.65 moles of periodate and the liberation of 1.21 moles of formic acid per equivalent of the mucilage. Based on these results and earlier findings, a possible structur (B) for the repeating unit of the mucilage has been proposed.