Phenol-Sulfuric Acid Method for Total Carbohydrates

Abstract

The phenol-sulfuric acid method is a simple and rapid colorimetric method to determine total carbohydrates in a sample. The method detects virtually all classes of carbohydrates, including mono-, di-, oligo-, and polysaccharides. Although the method detects almost all carbohydrates, the absorptivity of the different carbohydrates varies. Thus, unless a sample is known to contain only one carbohydrate, the results must be expressed arbitrarily in terms of one carbohydrate.

In this method, the concentrated sulfuric acid breaks down any polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, and disaccharides to monosaccharides. Pentoses (5-carbon compounds) are then dehydrated to furfural, and hexoses (6-carbon compounds) to hydroxymethyl furfural. These compounds then react with phenol to produce a yellow-gold color. For products that are very high in xylose (a pentose), such as wheat bran or corn bran, xylose should be used to construct the standard curve for the assay, and measure the absorption at 480 nm. For products that are high in hexose sugars, glucose is commonly used to create the standard curve, and the absorption is measured at 490 nm. The color for this reaction is stable for several hours, and the accuracy of the method is within ±2% under proper conditions.