92 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF GALACTAN. 



J. U LINDSEY and E. B. HOLLAND. 



Galactan, one of the hemi-celluloses, was first extracted 

 from lucerne seeds by Miintz,* and was converted into galac- 

 tose by boiling with dilute acid. E. Schulze f and his co- 

 workers found galactan quite prominent in the seeds of the 

 blue lupine. The finely ground seeds were extracted with 

 ether, alcohol, one per cent, soda solution at a low tempera- 

 ture to remove albuminoids, washed with water, and the 

 residue boiled with dilute sulphuric acid. The solution was 

 afterwards neutralized with barium carbonate, filtered, and 

 evaporated to a syrup. This syrup was extracted with 

 hot alcohol, and the alcoholic solution on slow evaporation 

 yielded sugar crystals which proved to be galactose. The 

 mother substance, yielding galactose, was also found to con- 

 tain a pentose (probably ara])inose). Schulze, therefore, 

 called the substance para-galactoaraban , An examination 

 of the pea, soy and field l>ean, showed the presence of the 

 same substance. The cofl'ee bean, date seed, palm and 

 cocoanut cake proved the presence of galactan and maunan 

 in liberal quantities, indicating the presence of a substance 

 which might be termed galactomannan. Whether these 

 substances are chemically united into complex molecules, or 

 whether they are simple mixtures, it is hardly possible to 

 state. 



As a result of this work, Schulze assumed that the hemi- 

 cellulose galactan might be very generally distributed in 

 agricultural plants; and, if such should be the case, it must 

 be of importance as a source of nutrition. 



* Bull. Soc. Chim. (2) 37, p. 409. 



t /^eitsch fiir pliysiol. chem. Bd 14. Heft 3; Zeitsch fiir physiol. chem. Bd 16, 

 Hefts 4 and 5. 



