ARS | Publication request: Analysis of sucrose from sugar beet

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: May 25, 2012
Publication Date: November 1, 2012
Citation: Mcgrath, J.M., Fugate, K.K. 2012. Analysis of sucrose from sugar beet. In: Preedy, V. R., editor. Dietary Sugars: Chemistry, Analysis, Function and Effects. Food and Nutritional Components in Focus No. 3. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing. p. 526-545.

Technical Abstract: Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose. Sucrose is a product of photosynthesis and is a key carbohydrate resource for growth and metabolism in many organisms. Economic sources of sucrose include sugar cane and sugar beet, where fresh weight sucrose concentrations range from 9 to 21%, which together provide 168 billion metric tons of sucrose for human consumption and use, as well as molasses, and pet and livestock feedstuffs. Sucrose analysis has a long and rich history, and formal analytical methods have been proposed and developed since the late 18th century. Today, polarimetry (the optical rotation of light by solutes in solution) is the basis for most sucrose analyses, and the specialized saccharimeter instrument augments polarimetry by using an internationally accepted and calibrated measurement unit (oZ). Refractometry, chromatography (liquid, gas, ion exchange, HPLC, etc.), spectroscopy (infrared, Raman, NMR), and isotopic discrimination have all been used on a wide variety of tissues and syrups, for direct determination or by indirect comparison of inverted and non-inverted samples. Future trends suggest increased application of near-infrared spectroscopy in the analysis of sucrose depending on the development and transferability of adequate prediction models.