Abstract: In this study,the nutrients in chicken sternal cartilage were analyzed,and chicken sternal cartilage was hydrolyzed with papain. After protein removal with trichloroacetic acid,chondroitin sulfate was precipitated from chicken sternal cartilage hydrolysate,and then was purified with 732 anion exchange chromatography and Sephacryl-300 HR gel filtration chromatography in turn. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography(RP-HPLC) and atomic absorption spectrum analyses indicated that chicken sternal cartilage contains many flavour amino acids and beneficial mineral elements such as calcium,magnesium and zinc. The data of high performance gel filtration chromatography(HPGFC) and agarose gel electrophoresis(AGE) exhibited that the obtained chondroitin sulfate is of high purity(99%) ,and its molecular weight is 21007 D,which is smaller than that from pig laryngeal cartilage. Infrared spectrum analysis showed that it is chondroitin-4-sulfate but not chondroitin-6-sulfate. Gas chromatography analysis proved that its main neutral monosaccharide compositions are glucose,xylose and galactose,which are obviously different from those of chondroitin sulfate from pig laryngeal cartilage.

Key words: chicken sternal cartilage, chondroitin sulfate, structure analysis