A method for the determination of small quantities of mixed reducing sugars and its application to the estimation of the products of hydrolysis of starch by taka-diastase

Abstract

PRELIMINARY investigations on the carbohydrates in the developing apple have shown that the concentration of sugars in the fruit is less than 1 % during the first weeks of growth, and further, that the maximum starch concentration reached at any time is only about 2 %. Estimation of these carbohydrates by the usual methods would require the collection of a very large number of apples, especially in the early stages of development, when the fruit is small, with the resultant risk that the crop on any tree would be so seriously depleted that the development of the remaining fruit might be abnormal.