Enzymatic liberation of lycotetraose from the Solanum glycoalkaloid alpha-tomatine.

The branched tetrasaccharide, O-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-O-[beta-d-xylopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-O-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)-d-galactose (lycotetraose) is a key constituent of many biologically interesting natural products. Described herein is a convenient enzymatic preparation of lycotetraose from the readily available Solanum glycoalkaloid alpha-tomatine. The preparation makes use of the recombinant endo-glycosidase, tomatinase, from the plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici.