Sugar beet arabinan consists of a 1,5 α-linked arabinose backbone to which 1,3 α-linked (and possibly some 1,2 α-linked) L-arabinofuranosyl residues are attached. Approximately 60% of the main-chain arabinofuranosyl residues are substituted by single 1,3-linked arabinofuranosyl groups. The reducing terminal arabinosyl residue is attached through rhamnose to fragments of the rhamnogalacturonan backbone of the native pectin molecule.
