Abstract

Blades of Lessonia vadosa were sequentially extracted with 70% ethanol, followed by 2% CaCl2 solution,, diluted HCl (pH 2), and finally with 2% Na2CO3 solution. D-mannitol was the only low molecular weight carbohydrate obtained from the ethanolic extract. By ion-exhange chromatography of the CaCl2 extract a fraction contaning 36.7% of sulfate group was obtained. Chemical and spectroscopic analysis indicated the presence of a regular polymer of a-L-fucopyranose linked 1