EXPERIMENT NO.

ISOLATION OF POLYSACCHARIDES
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Polysaccharides are two major groups: the storage polysaccharides and structural
polysaccharides. The storage polysaccharides, of which starch is the most abundant in plants
and glycogen in animals, are usually deposited in the form of granules in the cytoplasm of the
cells. Starch occurs in two forms, the a-amylase and amylopectin.

The major components of starch can be enzymatically hydrolyzed in two different

ways. Amylose can be hydrolyzed by a-amylase which is abundant in the saliva and pancreatic
juice. Amylose can be hydrolyzed also by B-amylase.

Glycogen is the main storage polysaccharide of animal cells, the counterpart of starch
in plant cells. It is especially abundant in the liver, where it may attain up to 10% of the wet
weight. It is also present to about 1 to 2% in skeletal muscle. Glycogen gives a red violet color
with iodine solution.

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the activity, the students should be able to:

1. isolate polysaccharides (starch and glycogen).

2. perform qualitative test to confirm the presence of the isolated polysaccharides.

MATERIALS AND REAGENTS:

MATERIALS REAGENTS
Weighing pan white sand
Chopping board 50 grams chicken liver (not frozen)
Small knife vinegar
casserole Muriatic acid
Electric stove Betadine solution
Thick tissue paper Baking soda
Measuring cups
 Medicine dropper
Plastic funnel
Filter paper
Cheese cloth ( “katcha”)
Plastic cups

PROCEDURES:

I.
I. Isolation of glycogen from chicken liver.

a) Rinse the liver, pat it dry with filter paper and weigh out 50 grams.

b) Cut the liver into very small pieces and drop into 200 ml of vigorously
boiling water.

c) Cover the container and continue boiling for about 20 mins. (at this point,
the volume of the solution should have been reduced to about half).

d) Note the opalescence of the solution.

e) At the boiling point, faintly acidify with 10% acetic acid to coagulate the
proteins.

f) Filter the solution while hot. Note the appearance of the filtrate.

g) Transfer the filtrate into a test tube, label it as Filtrate A and set aside for
part II

II.Isolation of starch from potato

a) Wash, peel and grate 4 pieces of potatoes.

b) Transfer the gratings and adhering liquids to a clean cheese cloth which
has been folded into bags.

c) Move the bag up and down through 100 ml of water contained in a big
glass. Do this for about 5 mins. Notice the substance which settle out.
 d) Filter the solution.

e) Mix 5.0 grams of the residue with 20 ml of warm water in a small cup and
label this as Solution B. Set aside for part II.

II. TEST ON THE ISOLATED POLYSACCHARIDE

A.. Iodine test

1. Place 5 drops of Betadine solution in a used gravy cup, then add to it 2 drops of
filtrate A obtained from part I.

2. Repeat the process with Solution B obtained from part II or isolation of starch.

3. Note any color change in each solution tested.

REPORT SHEET NAME:
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EXPERIMENT GROUP:_________RATING:_________
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NO. 5 DATE PERFORMED:
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DATE SUBMITTED:
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ISOLATION OF POLYSACCHARIDES

RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS

ISOLATE TESTS
POLYSACCHARIDE
IODINE TEST ( Betadine)
Starch from potato

Glycogen from
Chicken Liver

QUESTIONS:

1. Give other sources of starch and glycogen that you can use as raw materials to isolate
starch and glycogen.
 2. In the isolation of glycogen from liver, why it is necessary to filter the solution while it is
still hot?

CONCLUSIONS: