Lignin–carbohydrate complexes from sisal (Agave sisalana) and abaca (Musa textilis): chemical composition and structural modifications during the isolation process

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Main conclusion: Two types of lignins occurred in different lignin–carbohydrate fractions, a lignin enriched in syringyl units, less condensed, preferentially associated with xylans, and a lignin with more guaiacyl units, more condensed, associated with glucans.Lignin–carbohydrate complexes (LCC) were isolated from the fibers of sisal (Agave sisalana) and abaca (Musa textilis) according to a plant biomass fractionation procedure recently developed and which was termed as “universally” applicable to any type of lignocellulosic material. Two LCC fractions, namely glucan–lignin (GL) and xylan–lignin (XL), were isolated and differed in the content and composition of carbohydrates and lignin. In both cases, GL fractions were enriched in glucans and comparatively depleted in lignin, whereas XL fractions were depleted in glucans, but enriched in xylans and lignin. Analysis by two-dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (2D-NMR) and Derivatization Followed by Reductive Cleavage (DFRC) indicated that the XL fractions were enriched in syringyl (S)-lignin units and β-O-4′ alkyl-aryl ether linkages, whereas GL fractions have more guaiacyl (G)-lignin units and less β-O-4′ alkyl-aryl ether linkages per lignin unit. The data suggest that the structural characteristics of the lignin polymers are not homogeneously distributed within the same plant and that two different lignin polymers with different composition and structure might be present. The analyses also suggested that acetates from hemicelluloses and the acyl groups (acetates and p-coumarates) attached to the γ-OH of the lignin side chains were extensively hydrolyzed and removed during the LCC fractionation process. Therefore, caution must be paid when using this fractionation approach for the structural characterization of plants with acylated hemicelluloses and lignins. Finally, several chemical linkages (phenylglycosides and benzyl ethers) could be observed to occur between lignin and xylans in these plants.

This study has been funded by the Spanish Projects AGL2011-25379, AGL2014-53730-R and CTQ2014-60764-JIN (co-financed by FEDER funds); the CSIC project 2014-40E-097; and the EU-Projects LIGNODECO (KBBE-2009-3-244362); and INDOX (KBBE-2013-7-613549). Analysis of carbohydrates was performed by Carlos Vila (Celbiotech Research Group, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Tarrasa, Spain). We finally thank Dr. Manuel Angulo for performing the NMR analyses that were acquired in a Bruker Advance III 500 MHz instrument from the NMR facilities of the General Research Services of the University of Seville (SGICITIUS).

Peer reviewed