Abstract
A sensitive and selective assay of trehalose is presented for its determination in anhydrobiotic organisms that are able to tolerate lack of water because of their ability to synthesize large quantities of this disaccharide. The disaccharide was extracted with water and ethanol 80%, followed by normal bonded phase‐high performance liquid chromatography and refraction index measurement. The assay demonstrated to be fast with good linear and high precision response. The column and detector performance show good retention, selectivity, and efficiency. Based on replicated analysis of standards over a range of 0.2–10 mg/mL, the method is accurate (90–100%) and precise (CV of 5% daily). The concentration of trehalose in Selaginella lepidophylla plants, subjected to hydration and dehydration treatments at seven different incubation times, ranged between 0.61 and 17.99 mg/mL. At the same time, the presence of fructose, glucose, and sucrose were analyzed. The standard deviation of plant samples were about 0.003–1.51%, where the detection limit was 0.01 mg/mL.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported in part by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología grant (CONACyT 31248‐B).