The Structure of Salmalia Malabarica Gum. Part II. Structure of the Degraded Gum

Hydrolysis of the methylated degraded gum affords 2,4,6- and 2,3,4-tri-, 2,6-di-O-methyl-D-galactoses and 2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-1)-gelacturonic acid in equivalent amounts. The degraded gam is concluded to be a branched chain polysaccharide and the repeating unit consists of a framework of D-gal­actpyranose residues with main chain linked 1→3 and with side chains attached by 1→4 linkages. Periodic acid oxidation experiments also confirm this view.