Hydrolysis of plant seed gums by microwave irradiation

Under microwave irradiation (MW), the seed gums, guar and Ipomoea quamoclit were hydrolyzed to constituent monosaccharides and oligosaccharides in very mild conditions and short reaction time. Under MW both the seed gums could be completely hydrolyzed using very dilute acid (0.00625N H2SO4) within two minutes. Hydrolysis occurs in 2 min and 20 s even in absence of acid under the MW irradiation. Thus hydrolytic fragmentation under MW provides an efficient tool in structural elucidation of polysaccharides.