TITLE: The Identification of The Sugars in Fruit Juices Using TLC (Thin Layer
TITLE: The Identification of The Sugars in Fruit Juices Using TLC (Thin Layer
TITLE: The Identification of The Sugars in Fruit Juices Using TLC (Thin Layer
chromatography)
AIM: To identify the sugars in fruit juices using thin layer chromatography
INTRODUCTION
After the sample has been applied on the plate, a solvent mixture (known as the
mobile phase) is drawn up the plate via capillary action. Because different analytes
ascend the TLC plate at different rates, separation is achieved. Thin layer
chromatography can be used to monitor the progress of a reaction, identify
compounds present in each mixture and determine the purity of a substance.
Specific examples of these applications include analysing ceramides and
fatty acids, detection of pesticides or insecticides in food and water, analysing
the dye composition of fibres in plants and their constituents. Several enhancements
can be made to the original method to automate the different steps, to increase the
resolution achieved with TLC and to allow more accurate quantitative analysis. This
method is referred to as HPTLC or ‘’high-performance TLC’’ (Harry and
chrisopher,1989).
We used this TLC to identify the standard sugars such as lactose, xylose, fructose,
glucose, galactose, sucrose, and suitable mixtures of unknown sugars.
Sucrose is a crystalline disaccharide of fructose and glucose (C 12H22O11),
found in many plants but extracted as ordinary sugar mainly from sugar cane
and sugar beets, widely used as a sweetener or preservative and in the
manufacture of plastics and soaps also called saccharide. Glucose is the main type
of sugar in the blood and is the major source of energy for the body’s cells. Glucose
comes from the foods we eat or the body can make it from other substances.
Glucose is carried to the cells through the bloodstream. Several hormones, including
insulin, control glucose levels in the blood. Lactose is a sugar present in in milk. It is
a disaccharide containing glucose and galactose units. Galactose is a sugar of the
hexose class which is a constituent of lactose and many polysaccharides. Xylose is
a sugar of the pentose class which occurs widely in plants, especially as a
component of hemicelluloses. Ethyl acetate colourless volatile flammable liquid,
CH3COOC2H5, used in perfumes, flavourings, lacquers, pharmaceuticals, and
rayon and as a general solvent (Reich, Schibli,2007).
DISCUSSION
After spraying sugars, we then saw the sugars with their different distances and
colours. The distance of a solvent is 9.7 cm, the first sugar is lactose which is 1.8
cm, followed by xylose 6.3 cm, followed by fructose 4.9 cm, followed by glucose
4.4cm, followed by galactose 3.8cm, sucrose 3.5 cm, three unknown sugars,
unknown(1a) 4.5cm, unknown(1b) 6.5cm, unknown (2a) 3.3cm, unknown(2b) 4.1cm,
unknown(3a) 1.8cm, unknown(3b) 4.8cm, and lastly the fruit juice(1) 3.4cm, fruit
juice(2) 4cm, fruit juice(3) 5cm. Sucrose seems dark brown in colour, galactose is
dark blue in colour, fructose is orange in colour, xylose is blue/green in colour,
glucose is light green in colour and the first mixture had three colours, orange, light
green and a dark brownish colour in colour. Looking at the colours, RF values, and
the distance of the mixtures it is observed that unknown (1a) is glucose, (1b) is
xylose, (2a) sucrose, (2b) galactose, (3a) lactose, (3b) fructose.
CONCLUSION
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