Glycanases Associated with Cell Walls of Cicer arietinum L: Arabinogalactan Degradation

The proteins extracted from Cicer arietinum cell walls showedendo-glycanase activity against the water-soluble hemicellulosicpolysaccharides extracted with 4% KOH. Such endo-glycanase activitywas able to shift the molecular mass distribution of the arabinogalactancausing a decrease in its average molecular mass, as well asto release small oligosaccharides constituted exclusively ofarabinose. Exo-glycanase activities such as glucosidase andgalactosidase were also present. Key words: Arabinogalactan, cell wall, Cicer arietinum, glycanase, hemicellulose