Extraction and analysis of the parietal polysaccharides of acorn pericarps from Quercus trees

Abstract

Acorns produced by Quercus trees are currently underexploited and undervalued. To evaluate the commercial and health benefits of acorns, we examined the cell wall components of acorn pericarps from Quercus suber and Quercus ilex, growing in NorthWestern Algeria. Acorn pericarps were sequentially extracted and the polysaccharide fractions were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The lignocellulosic fraction was the major component of Q. suber and Q. ilex cell walls (37.19% and 48.95%, respectively). Lower amounts of pectins and hemicelluloses were also found in both species. Hemicellulose extracts from the two species contained xylose as the major monosaccharide (ranging from 36.7% to 49.4%). Galacturonic acid was the major component of hot water-or ammonium oxalate-extracted pectins from both species (ranging from 20.6% to 46.8%). The results reported in this paper reveal that acorn pericarp cell walls from these two oak could be potential sources of bioactive compounds.

Novel Ecogenic Plasmonic Biohybrids as Multifunctional Bioactive Coatings

“…bonds present in polysaccharide structures [33], [35] 1050 (sharp band) -C-O-C-ether linkage of pectin [1], [36] 830 (weak, sharp peak) Hydrogen-bonded O-H out-of-plane bending [33] MNT-nAg/AMT-nAg 3345/3363 (intense, very broad band)…”

Resource allocation strategies in the reproductive organs of Fagaceae species

“…In addition, our results clearly showed that among seven Fagaceae species, there was a significantly negative correlation between concentration of the total phenolics and the thickness of the pericarp, suggesting a trade‐off between chemical and physical defense. Formation of physical defense is related to the high lignification of the pericarp, and the phenolic substances are a precursor substance of lignin (Caretto et al, 2015; Lattanzio et al, 2006; Mébarki et al, 2019). Therefore, the trade‐off between physical and chemical defenses suggests that the total amount of C that could be invested into defense is limited.…”