Variazioni di Metaboliti Nel Seme di Ricino in Fase di Maturazione

Changes of glycolytic substrates level during ripening of the castor bean seed. — The changes of the concentration of carbohydrates and of the main glycolytic substrates in the castor bean seed during the ripening phase were investigated. The following results were obtained: The level of unphosphorylated sugars and of acid hydrolysable polysaccharides remains almost unchanged, with a tendency to a rise during the ripening phase. The slight increase of these compounds, together with the transition of the R. Q. from high to low values, might be interpreted as an indication of a shift of the seed from the a metabolism of fat synthesis to one of conversion of lipids into sugars, such as is observed in the germinating castor bean seeds. Hexose monophosphate level sharply decreases during the last period of maturation. However, the level of these substrates does not fall so low as to suggest a severe limitation for the pentose-P pathway activity. Fructose diphosphate, DOAP, GAP, 3 PGA, 2 PGA, PEP and p...