On the Occurrence of Cane Sugar in the Seeds 

 of Gingko biloba and Camellia theifera. 



BY 



U. Suzuki. 



Recent investigations have shown that cane sugar occurs 

 very frequently in the vegetable kingdom, having been observed 

 not only in seeds but also in stems, roots and leaves. It not 

 only plays an important role as reserve material during the 

 germination process, but it is also the principal form in which 

 starch is transported, and therefore germinating shoots may 

 contain it, even when the original seeds do not. In the following 

 lines I shall describe its occurrence in the resting seed. 



I. Seeds of Gingko biloba. 



The hard shells of the seeds of the Gingko were removed and 

 the content dried and finely powdered — 630 grams — was at first 

 freed from fat and then repeatedly extracted with hot alcohol of 

 go%. This extract yielded according to the method of E. ScJutlse 

 for the isolation of cane sugar, nearly 10 grams of crystals which 

 on minute examination proved to be identical with cane sugar. 



' The aqueous solution gave a strong red coloration with 

 resorcin and hydrochloric acid ; reduced Fehling s solution, not 

 directly but after inversion, became brown and finally black by 

 the action of concentrated sulphuric acid ; and the optical rotatory 

 power calculated from observation on Soleil-Ventzkes sacchari- 

 meter was found to be [a] D = + 66.5. 0 



A quantitative determination showed that the seeds of 

 Gingko contained nearly 6% of soluble sugars of which £ reduce 

 Fehling s solution only after inversion. Further tests left no 

 doubt that there were present also other sugars in small quanti- 

 ties, which have less rotatory power and are soluble in alcohol 

 with greater difficulty than cane sugar. 



