Melezitose in honey

The crystallization of turanose was first reported by Pacsu and the writer24 as follows In 1918 one of us (H.) found an abundant supply of the rare melezitose in a certain kind of honeydew honey and from it he prepared a small quantity of sirupy turanose in the hope of crystallizing it. Other samples of turanose sirup were prepared subsequently from this stock of melezitose by other workers in the same laboratory. Recently it was observed by D. H. Brauns that one of these sirups, the exact history of which is not now known, had crystallized after standing many years. By the use of these crystals to nucleate turanose sirups which we have lately prepared from melezitose, it has been possible to obtain a rapid crystallization of the sugar in abundant quantities. To this quotation the writer can now add the information, kindly supplied recently by Mr. C. F. Walton, Jr., that Mr. Walton prepared the other samples of turanose sirup. ... 

Melezitose a-D-Glcp-(1 3)-p-D-FruF-(2 1)- a-D-GIcp Free sugar in honey, manna, exudates of lime and pine... 

The occurrence of crystalline melezitose in a European honey was established conclusively in 1929 by Nottbohm and Lucius the source of this honey was the honeydew of linden trees one recalls that Maquenne isolated melezitose from honeydew of the linden in 1893. In their second article they report crystalline melezitose in a honey (Larchen-honig), the source of which was honeydew from larch trees of Austria, as reported to them by the entomologist Ludwig Amhart of Vienna. Two articles by Arnhart are of special importance regarding the caus of the occurrence of larch manna or honeydew. His observations convinced him that the saccharine material is to be attributed to the activity of plant lice of several kinds and he remarks that one can be deceived easily because some species are detectable on larch twigs only by a very careful examination. In some seasons of drought the dry, white manna... 

A distinct feature of honeydew honey is the trisaccharide melezi-tose, which has been identified in the exudate manna of the Douglas fir the European larch, and the North American Jack or scrub pine. According to the late Professor C. S. Hudson, Turkestan manna contains 20-38% of melezitose, and Douglas-fir manna, 50% of melezitose. At one time, melezitose formed 20-30% of the total... 

A characteristic feature of honeydew honey is the presence of the trisaccharides melezitose and erlose the presence of the former was recognized35 as early as 1918, and the latter was found 71 in 1954. The mode of formation of these trisaccharides, as pointed out earlier (see p. 302), has been discussed at length by Bacon and Dickinson.37 However, for the present, it suffices to state that, based on the fore-... 

The melezitose (Pfanstiehl) used in our experiments was isolated from honeydew honey, one of the important sources discovered by Hudson and Sherwood.10... 

Occurrence. The sugar, discovered by Berthelot in 1859, is a constituent of the sweet exudations of many plants such as the honeydew of limes and poplars, and the manna exuded from insect-produced wounds of the Douglas fir, Virginia pine, larch, etc. In dry seasons when the supply of flower nectar is insufficient, bees may collect these mannas or honeydews, and the honeys may contain considerable quantities of melezitose (151). When the quantity of the trisaccharide is great, crystallization of the honey may take place in the comb. Probably because of the resistance of the melezitose to hydrolysis by invertase, honeys which contain this sugar will not serve as food for bees. 

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