Production of galactinol from sucrose by plant enzymes

Abstract

Galactinol, 1-O-(α-D-galactopyranosyl)-myo-inositol, was produced from sucrose as a starting material. UDP-Glc was prepared with sucrose and UDP using sucrose synthase partially purified from sweet potato roots. Then, the UDP-Glc was converted to UDP-Gal using yeast UDP-Gal 4-epimerase from a commercial source. Finally, galactinol was produced from the UDP-Gal and myo-inositol using galactinol synthase partially purified from cucumber leaves. The product was identified as galactinol by the retention times of HPLC, α-galactosidase digestion, and NMR spectrometry. © 2003 by Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry.