Sugar composition of the moss Rhodobryum ontariense (Kindb.) Kindb.

Although the second biggest terrestrial group of plants, bryophytes remain poorly known chemically compared to the angiosperms. In this article, the sugars of the moss Rhodobryum ontariense, an unstudied representative of the medicinally known genus, are reported. The chemical analysis revealed the usual plant sugar sucrose, and a new sugar, fructooligosaccharide 1-kestose, which is reported first not only for the genus Rhodobryum, but also for mosses. The trisaccharides have been scantily reported in bryophytes hitherto. This gives more significance to this study for further investigation of its role in the moss species. The health-promoting effect of 1-kestose is also briefly discussed.