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Isolation of Biologically Active Fractions from Wood Hemicellulose Extracts¹

University of Illinois, Urbana 61801

⁴ To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract

Chick bioassays were used to evaluate the phenolic, carbohydrate, and phenolic-carbohydrate complexes present in wood hemicellulose extracts (WHE). Eighty percent ethanol extractions of WHE induced the precipitation of high molecular weight phenolic-hemicellulose components (Fraction 1) leaving an alcohol supernatant containing residual phenolics and lower molecular weight sugars. Alkali treatment of the supernatant resulted in the precipitation of the sugars with some contamination from phenolic moieties (Fraction 2). The remaining material (Fraction 3) contained mostly low molecular weight phenolic material, but some carbohydrate was also present. Spectrophotometry, thin layer chromatography and dialysis according to molecular weight were used to identify the chemical properties of the WHE fractions. Eight-day-old male chicks of the Hubbard strain were fed a practical corn-soybean meal basal diet supplemented with each of the three fractions isolated from both Laurel and Ukiah WHE. All fractions were neutralized and concentrated before addition to the chick diets. A total of 30 animals per treatment were used in two separate trials. Growth rate (GR), feed consumption (FC) and gain to feed ratios (G/F) were the parameters measured. Fraction 1 isolated from Laurel WHE improved G/F on day 6, whereas the same fraction isolated from its Ukiah counterpart, significantly improved GR on days 3, 6 and 9 of the experiment. An improvement in G/F was also noted on day 3. The addition of Laurel Fraction 2 depressed G/F on days 9 and 12 with no effect on GR or FC. Ukiah Fraction 2 improved GR on days 3 and 6 and depressed G/F on day 12. Fraction 3 isolated from Laurel WHE improved GR on day 3 and 6 and G/F on day 3, while the same fraction isolated from Ukiah WHE significantly improved GR on days 3, 6 and 9 and G/F on day 3. This fractionation procedure appears to be acceptable for isolating the short-term growth-promoting moieties of WHE. The data indicate that WHE contains growth promoting substances that are evidently different from those moieties that cause increases in FC.

¹ This work was supported in part by funds from the Masonite Corp., Chicago, IL 60606.

² Present address: Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108.

³ Department of Animal Science.