Agronomy and Horticulture Department
Date of this Version
11-1962
Abstract
A modified procedure for the assay of melilotic acid in sweetclover leaves is described. The procedure provides for (a) extraction of melilotic acid and melilotyl glucoside by autoclaving the plant tissue in water, (b) hydrolysis of melilotyl glucoside by autoclaving in 1 N HCl, (c) separation of melilotic acid from interfering compounds by paper chromatography, and (d) colorimetric assay of the chromatographically-separated melilotic acid. Application of the procedure to plants representing various genotypes of sweetclover yielded results indicating that the melilotic acid content of leaves from plants high in content of o-hydroxycinnamic acid is about three times as high as that of leaves from plants low in o-hydroxycinnamic acid.
Comments
Published in Crop Science (November-December 1962) 2(6): 525-526.