Comparison of Different Techniques for Plant Carbohydrate Analysis

Abstract

Three different methods of sample preparation for estimates of carbohydrate content in the form of souble sugars were compared fresh extraction, freeze drying and oven drying. Three different rice varieties were used in the study, IR 42, FR-13 A and Kurkarappan, each of which was grown in nutrient solution under glasshouse conditions for 20 - 24 days before harvesting.
When using the fresh material and freeze-drying of samples for analysis, the carbohydrate content of different plant parts-leaf, shoot and root, showed little difference. However, soluble carbohydrate estimates using even-dried material gave estimates of between 28 - 60 percent less than those obtained when the analysis was based on fresh negetative meterial.