Preparation of Chitooligosaccharide by Hydrogen Peroxide Degradation of Chitosan and Its Effect on Soybean Seed Germination

• Published in: Journal of polymers and the environment Vol. 27; no. 9; pp. 2098 - 2104
• Main Authors: Hai, Nguyen Thi Thanh, Thu, Le Hoai, Nga, Nguyen Thi Thanh, Hoa, Tran Thai, Tuan, Le Nghiem Anh, Van Phu, Dang, Hien, Nguyen Quoc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural economics; Ambient temperature; AMINO ACIDS; Brief Communication; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chitosan; Degradation; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; FOURIER TRANSFORMATION; Fourier transforms; GEL PERMEATION CHROMATOGRAPHY; Germination; HYDROGEN PEROXIDE; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; INFRARED SPECTRA; Kinetics; LACTIC ACID; Liquid chromatography; Materials Science; MOLECULAR WEIGHT; OLIGOSACCHARIDES; Organic chemistry; Polymer Sciences; REACTION KINETICS; Reaction time; Seed germination; Seeds; SOYBEANS; Sustainable agriculture; Degradation; Hydrogen peroxide; Chitosan; Soybean; Chitooligosaccharide; Germination
• ISSN: 1566-2543; 1572-8919
• DOI: 10.1007/s10924-019-01479-y

Chitooligosaccharides (COS) were prepared by hydrogen peroxide (1%) degradation of chitosan solution (3%) in dilute lactic acid at ambient temperature. The molecular weights of degraded chitosan were measured by gel permeation chromatography, and the chemical structure of resultant COS were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra. The decrease of chitosan Mw followed the first-order kinetics with the rate constant of 5.71 × 10 −7 mol/g/h. As a result, the COS with Mw of 4500 g/mol was obtained at 360 h of the reaction time and its chemical structure almost remained the same as initial chitosan. Germination ability of soybean seeds pre-soaking in COS (4500 g/mol) solution with different concentrations, particularly 0 (control), 50, 100 and 200 mg/L was investigated. Results indicated that germination rate increased significantly for all soybean seeds treated with COS compared to the control. Thus, COS prepared by this method can be potentially applied to large-scale production with reasonably low cost and used as an effective biostimulant for sustainable agriculture.