ON THE CARBOHYDRATES OF THE SHOOTS OF SASA PANICULATA. 253 
attaining to 20.45 of the dry matter. Sugars are present in no slight 
quantity, reaching the amount of 7.79 % of the dry matter. The absence 
of starch is apparently striking, when compared with the results of Iv o z a i 
(1. c), Nagai and Murai° who detected its presence in the shoots of 
Phyllostachys. But it must be remembered that the Sasa shoots are generally 
gathered by breaking off the shoot above the soil and not by digging up, as in 
the case of other bamboos, and that even in Phyllostachys according to Shi- 
bata 1 2) starch exists only in the lower part of the underground portion of 
the shoots, in the neigh bourhood of the rhyzome. 
To determine the nature of pentosan and sugar of the Sasa shoots, the 
following investigation was undertaken and will here be described in detail. 
Pentosan of tlie shoots. 
(1) Method of hydrolysis. 
280 grams of finely pulverized shoots were washed with water and 2 % 
ammonia successively, until the washings in each case were no more colored. 
Next, the sample was extracted with 10 L. of 5% caustic soda solution for 
about 48 hours and filtered. After the filtrate was neutralized with hydro- 
chloric acid, a gummy substance was precipitated by the addition of 95% 
alcohol, and its amount weighed about 30 grams after drying. Then, 500 
c.c. of 5 %o sulphuric acid were added to this substance and heated in a boil- 
ing water bath for 20 hours. When cooled, it was filtered through “Nutsch” 
filter with suction. The yellowish brown filtrate was neutralized with pure 
calcium carbonate and allowed to stand overnight. On the following mor- 
ning, the calcium sulphate produced was filtered off by means of suction and 
the filtrate was concentrated, with the addition of a little calcium carbonate, 
to about 100 c.c. in a partial vacuum. The warm solution thus obtained 
was put into a dry flask with 500 c.c. of 85% alcohol and allowed to stand 
1) Japan International Health Exhibition. London, 1884, A. Descriptive Catalogue, pp. 
3-6. 
2) Journ. Coll. Sc. Inrp. Univ., Tokyo, 8 (1900), pp. 427 — 496. 
