Rhamnogalacturonan II, a dominant polysaccharide in juices produced by enzymic liquefaction of fruits and vegetables

Rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II), a small complex pectic polysaccharide, is released from apple (Malus domestica), carrot (Daucus carota), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) by treatment with two commercial liquefying enzyme preparations. RG-II was isolated by size-exclusion chromatography from apple, tomato, and carrot juices obtained by enzymic liquefaction. All the RG-IIs contained the diagnostic sugars, apiose, 2-O-methyl-l-fucose, 2-O-methyl-d-xylose, aceric acid, Kdo and Dha. Glycosyl-linkage compositions of the neutral and acidic sugars, including aceric acid, were consistent with the hypothetical model described for sycamore RG-II confirming the conservation of RG-II in plants. Thus, when pectinolytic enzyme preparations are used to process fruits and vegetables, RG-II is released as a main soluble polysaccharide fraction while other pectic polysaccharides are heavily degraded. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.