Complete acid-based hydrolysis assay for carbohydrate quantification in seaweed: a species-specific optimized approach

Kostas, Emily Tsambika; Wilkinson, Stuart; White, Daniel A.; Cook, David J.

Abstract

Accurate quantification of the carbohydrate content of biomass is crucial for many bio-refining processes. The most commonly followed protocol is typically a modification of the NREL-based assay (specifically designed for carbohydrate analysis from lignocellulosic biomass). However, this NREL protocol was revealed to be excessively thermochemically harsh for seaweed biomass. This can result in erroneously low total sugar quantification as the reaction severity can degrade a proportion of the liberated sugars to decomposition products such as furans. Here we describe an optimization of the total acid hydrolysis protocol for accurate quantification of the carbohydrate content of seaweeds. Different species of seaweed can be accurately evaluated for their carbohydrate contents by following this optimized method.

Citation

Kostas, E. T., Wilkinson, S., White, D. A., & Cook, D. J. (in press). Complete acid-based hydrolysis assay for carbohydrate quantification in seaweed: a species-specific optimized approach. Methods in Molecular Biology, https://doi.org/10.1007/7651_2017_105

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 14, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Nov 14, 2017
• Deposit Date: Dec 5, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 15, 2018
• Journal: Methods in Molecular Biology
• Electronic ISSN: 1940-6029
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/7651_2017_105
• Keywords: Carbohydrate, Composition, Macroalgae, Mass balance, Optimization, Species
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/894476
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/protocol/10.1007%2F7651_2017_105
• Additional Information: This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedited version of an article published in Methods in Molecular Biology. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/7651_2017_105