Determination of the hydrothermal degradation products of D-(U-14C) glucose and D-(U-14C) fructose by TLC

The hydrothermal degradation was examined using D-(U-¹⁴C) glucose and D-(U-¹⁴C) fructose. By thin layer chromatography with methylene chloride, tetrahydrofuran (THF), acetic acid −60∶20∶20 as a mobile phase it was, possible to separate and identify the carbohydrates and their reaction products, glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone, methylglyoxal, glycolaldehyde, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural. Up to 99% of the initial activity was determined by scintillation counting of the TL-chromatograms. A reaction scheme for the hydrothermal degradation of glucose and fructose was obtained from these results.