Bovine lingual glands consist of mucous acini capped by demilunes. Inf
ormation on the chemical structure of their secretory glycoconjugates
was obtained by means of a battery of peroxidase-conjugated lectins wi
th affinity for specific terminal sugars. Sialidase procedures followe
d by lectin staining were also used to visualize the sugar sequences.
Stored secretions in mucous acinar cells contained fucose, N-acetylglu
cosamine, alpha and beta-N-acetylgalactosamine as terminal sugar resid
ues and beta-galactose as penultimate sugar in a heterogeneous distrib
ution. Demilunar cells failed to react with any of the lectins examine
d except that of Dolichos biflorus.