Some features of the accumulation of fructose-containing carbohydrates in herbaceous medicinal plants

The aim of our work was to estimate the influence of various factors (arealogical, ecological and other features of the species) on the accumulation of fructose-containing carbohydrates in plants. We conducted the studies in the Botanical Garden of the Ural Branch of the RAS and in the Botanical Garden of Ural Federal University (Yekaterinburg). We studied the features of accumulation of fructose-containing carbohydrates, including polyfructans, in the underground parts of 39 species of herbaceous medicinal plants grown in the conditions of the Middle Urals (southern taiga). We determined the content of fructans at the end of the vegetation season (September - early October). Since the content of fructans varies according to the conditions of the growing season, this parameter was evaluated for each species not in absolute terms (in percentage), but in numerical score, corresponding to the range in which these values existed during the years of observation for a particular species. We showed that most of the studied species of the family Asteraceae enhanced the accumulation of fructans. However, in some species of this family the number of these substances was low. The one-way ANOVA method revealed a significant effect on the accumulation of fructose-containing carbohydrates and the degree of their polymerization of the character of latitudinal (zonal) distribution of the studied species. The ability to synthesize fructans and the relative content of polyfructans was decreased in species that are distributed only in the forest zone (boreal and nemoral). Species, which are distributed in steppes of the temperate zone and in the subtropical zone, have an increased ability to accumulate fructans, and the degree of their polymerization was higher. Probably, the reasons for reducing the accumulation of fructose-containing carbohydrates in boreal and nemoral species are relatively short growing season and reduced illumination in appropriate habitats. The breadth of the area, apparently, does not really matter; species which are distributed from the boreal zone up to the subtropical zone do not differ significantly in the accumulation of fructans and the degree of their polymerization from the species which are distributed only in the steppes of the temperate zone and in the subtropical zone. So, the obtained results make it possible to identify some factors that affect the accumulation of fructose-containing carbohydrates in herbaceous plants.

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