Monosaccharides and polyols from mistletoes (Viscum album L.) growing on two different host species

WOS: 000188054500005Two subspecies of mistletoe (Viscum album L. ssp. album and ssp. abietis) growing on lime and pine trees, respectively, were investigated for the monosaccharides and polyols by GC-MS spectrometry. Arabinose, xylose, glucose, galactose, mannose, xylitol and inositol were determined in methanol extracts following the acidic hydrolysis. Sugar contents of the leaves were expressed as percentage on dry weight. Xylose content was the same (1.5%) in each species, whereas the other saccharides varied. V. album ssp. abietis (collected from pine trees) were found containing significantly higher percentage of glucose (29.0%) and galactose (44.0%) than V. album ssp. album (collected from lime trees) (9.0% and 17.0%, respectively). In contrast, mannose, arabinose and sugar alcohol percentages were higher in ssp. album. Mannose content was 3.5% for ssp. album whereas 1.0% for ssp. abietis. 3.0% arabinose were determined in the former and 2.0% in the latter. Xylitol and inositol percentages were 8.0% and 58.0% for ssp. album and 1.5% and 21.0% for ssp. abietis, respectively. These results indicate that saccharide composition of mistletoes depends upon the subspecies of the plant and the host tree