Structures of fifteen oligosaccharides isolated from new-born meconium

Abstract

New born meconium contains at least a hundred oTigosaccharides. In this study the isolation and characterization of the major constituents is described. The structure elucidation of 15 neutral and acidic oligosaccharides was carried out by methylation analysis, mass spectrometry and 360-MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The results show that the oligosaccharides accumulating in human meconium are probably products of the catabolism, of the O- and N-linked carbohydrate chains of glycoproteins. It is proposed that endo-N-acetyl-alpha-d-galactosaminidase, endo-beta-d-galactosidase and endo-N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase are involved in the production of these compounds.