Cereal Chem 50:548 - 552.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
The Carbohydrate Composition of Corn Cob Hemicelluloses.

B. J. Donnelly, J. L. Helm, and H. A. Lee. Copyright 1973 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Hemicelluloses A and B isolated from corn cobs of different synthetic genetic populations were analyzed for their carbohydrate composition. Isolation of the hemicelluloses involved delignification and fractionation into hemicelluloses A and B. The isolated hemicelluloses were acid hydrolyzed, and the carbohydrate composition of the hydrolysates determined by paper and gas chromatography. The major component was xylose, followed by arabinose and minor quantities of glucose and galactose. The quantities of these sugars varied, but there were consistently higher amounts of xylose in hemicellulose A than in B. With arabinose this situation was reversed. The xylose:arabinose ratios also showed variation throughout. Since populations differ in xylose:arabinose ratios, it appears possible to select genetic strains for specific cob hemicellulose composition.