CHARACTERIZATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE MUCILAGE EXTRACTED FROM ORCHID BULBS (BLETIA-CAMPANULATA) BY HIGH-TEMPERATURE CAPILLARY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY (HT-CGC)

The aim of this work was to develop an analytical method by High Tempe rature Capillary Gas Chromatography (HT-CGC) to characterize and ident ify the presence of tzauhtli, orchid mucilage, in works of art. During the pre-Hispanic and colonial period, tzauhtli was used as an adhesiv e for paper and feathers, as well as paint binder, and was one of the components of the paste used to model corn stalk sculptures, The mucil age was extracted with hot water from orchid bulbs (Bletia campanulata ) and lyophilized. The free sugars from the mucilage were analyzed by CGC after derivatization. The polysaccharide of the mucilage was chara cterized after its partial acid hydrolysis by HT-CGC analysis of the o ligosaccharides obtained, The proposed chromatographic method allows t he identification of different mucilages in works of art. This contrib ution is the first report of the oligosaccharides from the hydrolysis of the mucilage extracted from orchid bulbs (Bletia campanulata).