Some sugars and related carbohydrates found in delaware soils

The carbohydrates found after hydrolysis of extracts of soils made using water, aqueous NaOH or Na4P2O7 and 30% ethanol were compared with those found in a direct acid hydrolysate of these soils. The soils used included a Sassafras loam as control, a Sassafras loam amended with lucerne, a Pocomoke sandy loam from a field area, and a Pocomoke sandy loam from a virgin area covered with pines. Some carbohydrates were found in all hydrolysates but the direct acid hydrolysis gave the highest yields. Glucose, galactose, mannose, arabinose, xylose, fucose, rhamnose, 2‐O‐methyl‐D‐xylose, 2‐O‐methyl‐D‐arabinose, two other methylated sugars and galacturonic and glucuronic acids were among the carbohydrate materials found. Glucosamine, N‐acetylglucosamine, inositol and mannitol were other carbohydrate compounds present in the hydrolysates. Quantitative differences were also noted in the amounts of these carbohydrates. In the lucerne‐amended soil, the carbohydrate materials measured were about 0–092% compared with 0–078% for the control soil. The Pocomoke field soil contained larger amounts of these materials than did the virgin soil. Differences in quantities of individual sugars in the soils were also found.