The content of low molecular weight substances was analysed in leaf samples
of the resurrection plant Boea hygroscopica F. Muell. submitted to dehydra
tion. Drying treatment caused a variation in the carbohydrate pool, with a
decrease of all sugars except sucrose which notably increased, becoming the
prevalent one in dried leaves. Rehydration almost restored the pretreatmen
t sugar composition. Along with more common sugars galactinol and some high
er oligosaccharides of the raffinose family were detected. Their structures
were assigned by NMR and GC-MS analyses after acetylation. To our knowledg
e, this is the first finding in resurrection plants of significant amounts
of the galactosyl donor galactinol and of higher galactosyl oligosaccharide
s, which may have a role in restoring the pre-drying functions upon rehydra
tion. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.