Chemical nature of the hooks of the cystacanth of Moniliformis moniliformis
Anantaraman, S.; Ravindranath, M.H.
Acta Histochemica 47(1): 124-131
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0065-1281 PMID: 4134947 Document Number: 65661
Cystacanth hooks of Moniliformis moniliformis were resistant to strong acid and alkali, and all histochemical tests for protein were negative although sulphydryl groups were detected. They reacted with Fontana's ammoniacal silver nitrate but not with Schiff's reagent. The reducing property was not due to lipids but to the presence of phenolic acid substituted in the m-position. The polysaccharide component was probably a neutral mucopolysaccharide similar to chitin, and no acid mucopolysaccharides were detected. It is probable that the rigidity and resistant properties of the hook material are due to O-glycosidic linkage between phenolic acid and the polysaccharide component.