HPLC DETERMINATION OF SUGARS AND STARCH IN GREEN BEANS

A reversed-phase HPLC method using a Spherisorb NH2 column and 85:15 v /v acetonitrile/water as mobile phase was developed for determination of starch and soluble sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) in plants . When applied to pure starch samples, the analytical method was as ac curate as the official AOAC method and had better precision (coefficie nt of variation 0.87% vs 1.27%). When applied to green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), recovery was 97.7% for starch, 98.0% for glucose and 98 .1% for both fructose and sucrose.