Isolation and characterization of water-soluble prebiotic compounds from Australian and New Zealand plants

The water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) extracted from the underground parts (rhizome) of Arthropodium cirratum (Rengarenga lily extract): third order branches of Cordyline australis (Cabbage tree extract); a seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida (Undaria extract), and exudates from Acacia pycnantha (Acacia extract) were investigated. Extracts of Rengarenga lily, Cabbage tree, Undaria, and Acacia contained 576, 250, 275 and 794 g/kg DM WSCs, respectively. Constituent sugar analysis by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) showed that extracts of Rengarenga lily and Cabbage tree contained predominantly fructose and glucose (82-95%). The analysis also revealed that Acacia extract contained mainly galactose (78%) and arabinose (22%) while Undaria extract, contained fucose (55%) and galactose (44%). Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) showed that, on the basis of RF values, fructan composition of Rengarenga lily extract and Cabbage tree extract was different. Cabbage tree extract contained 45% (w/w) fructans while Rengarenga lily extract contained 65% (w/w) fructans. High performance size-exclusion chromatography coupled with multi-angle laser light scattering (SEC-MALLS) showed that the extracts had varying weight average molecular weight due to differences in the average chain length of the major carbohydrates. Data for the amino acid compositions differed considerably depending on the type of extract. Water-soluble carbohydrate extracts prepared from the four plant sources gave a wide range of WSC (250-794 g/kg DM) due to the different proportions of structural material in different species. It is not known how these differences will impact on animal production, if diets are supplemented with the extracts. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.