DETERMINATION OF GLYCURONIC ACIDS BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE ANION CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH PULSED AMPEROMETRIC DETECTION

Acid hydrolysis (0.25 M H2SO4) coupled with enzyme catalysis (pectolyase and beta-D-glucuronidase) were employed to extract galacturonic and glucuronic acids from microbial polysaccharides, plant residues, animal wastes, sewage sludge and soil. The glycuronic acids were separated by high-performance anion chromatography (HPAC) on a strong anion-exchange column using 0.1 M sodium hydroxide with 0.25 M sodium acetate as the mobile phase and determined by pulsed amperometric detection (PAD). HPAC-PAD was found to be superior to high-performance liquid chromatography with ultra-violet (UV) detection in terms of resolution and sensitivity of glycuronic acids. HPAC-PAD was not subject to interferences present with low UV detection (210 nm) and was highly selective for glycuronic acids. Enzymatic hydrolysis after treatment with mild acid (0.25M H2SO4) released galacturonic acids from orange peel and pectin, while glycuronic acid was released from Acacia powder. Large amounts of glycuronic acids were also extracted from plant materials. Low levels of uronic acids were detected in poultry manure, sewage sludge and organic-amended soils.