Quantifying Plant Soluble Protein and Digestible Carbohydrate Content, Using Corn (Zea mays) As an Exemplar

This method allows researchers in the field of plant sciences and nutritional ecology to accurately measure concentrations of soluble proteins and digestible carbohydrates in plant tissue. The main advantage of these techniques is that they offer a quick and easy method for quantifying these two incredibly important macronutrients with high accuracy. These techniques have strong implications for the field of ecology because plant proteins and carbohydrates make up the base of terrestrial food webs.

Generally, individuals new to this technique may struggle because there are several steps and some techniques which are not commonly performed in a general-use lab. To begin, weigh out replicate samples of each tissue into labeled 1.5 milliliter microcentrifuge tubes. Next, record the precise mass of each sample.