Comparison of Mannitol and Xylitol as Osmolytes in Preparation of Mitochondria

摘要

Mitochondrial research is performed on mitochondria prepared from different animal and plant tissues. The preparation of intact mitochondria is a prerequisite for the successful research. The osmoticum in the basic homogenization medium maintains the mitochondrial structure and prevents physical swelling and rupture of membranes. Thus the six-carbon mannitol and the five-carbon xylitol was compared both in the preparation of animal and plant mitochondria to find a possible new non six-carbon osmolyte. The intactness of the isolated mitochondria reached high degree from both sources, if mannitol was applied as the osmolyte, however the intactness was low in the case of xylitol osmolite. On the base of this result the six-carbon mannitol is a better osmolyte, than the five-carbon xylitol.