A gas chromatographic method for the determination of pentosans

A method for the determination of pentosans by gas chromatographic analysis of furfural produced by acid treatment is presented. Samples are treated with 3.85m hydrochloric acid and the furfural produced partitioned in situ into di-butyl ether. Furfural is measured by gas chromatography with acetophenone as internal standard. The method is calibrated against xylose which is taken through an identical hydrolysis procedure. When applied to starch and flour samples, the method showed good precision with a coefficient of variation of 2–4% depending upon sample type.