A Colorimetric Method for the Determination of Soil Saccharide Content and its Application in Forensic Science

Abstract

A colorimetric method for the determination of soil saccharide content and its use in discriminating between soils has been examined. The variation of saccharide content within a given dry-soil colour has been determined and found to be quite considerable. However, some correlation was found to exist between saccharide content and dry-soil colour. Although the effect of this correlation has not been fully examined it probably means that the good discrimination available varies between dry colours, No correlation was found to exist between saccharide content and pH of the soil when these two properties were studied for a collection of twenty-four soils, thus showing that the discriminations available by each method are truly complementary. A study of the effects of storage of a moist soil in a sealed polythene bag indicated no change in saccharide content for up to 14 days' storage.