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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Grain Quality and Structure Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #309892
Title: Glucose: detection and analysis

Author
item Galant, Ashley
item Kaufman, Rhett
item Wilson, Jeff

Submitted to: Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/17/2015
Publication Date: 4/23/2015
Citation: Galant, A.L., Kaufman, R.C., Wilson, J.D. 2015. Glucose: detection and analysis. Food Chemistry. 188:149-160.

Interpretive Summary: Glucose is a simple sugar that is important to a number of biological processes, including seedling germination and development, and human metabolism. Many different food products also contain glucose or longer chains of glucose molecules strung together, such as maltodextrin or starch. Because monitoring glucose content has practical applications in both medical (e.g. diabetes) and food chemistry (e.g. ethanol fermentation, baked goods) research, a number of different methods for detecting and quantifying glucose have been developed. This review provides a historical overview of early glucose-related research discoveries, and then delves into more modern methods of detection. Classic wet chemistry methods are discussed, as are enzymatic systems, non-enzymatic metallo-sensors, and blood glucose meters. Other instrumentation-based methods well suited for sugar quantification (e.g. gas chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography) are also described.

Technical Abstract: Glucose is an aldosic monosaccharide that is centrally entrenched in the processes of photosynthesis and respiration, serving as an energy reserve and metabolic fuel in most organisms. As both a monomer and as part of more complex structures such as polysaccharides and glucosides, glucose also plays a major role in modern food products, particularly where flavor and or structure are concerned. Over the years, many diverse methods for detecting and quantifying glucose have been developed; this review presents an overview of the most widely employed and historically significant, including copper iodometry, HPLC, GC, CZE, and enzyme based systems such as glucose meters. The relative strengths and limitations of each method are evaluated, and examples of their recent application in the realm of food chemistry are discussed.