Analysis of the chemical composition of natural carbohydrates – An overview of methods

•A variety of sample pre-treatment methods of biological sample were reviewed.•Analytical methods for determination sugars in plant tissues were focused.•Proposals for the procedure to identification and quantification the sugar content in the complex samples were presented.•The pros and cons of each method were pointed out. Natural carbohydrates are gaining importance over a wide spectrum of human activity due to their versatile functionalities. The properties of carbohydrates are currently used in many branches of industry and new possibilities of their utilization, like in medicine or materials science, are demonstrated systematically. The attractive properties of carbohydrates result from their chemical structure and ability to form macromolecules and derivatives. Each application of carbohydrate requires a knowledge of their chemical composition, which due to the number and differentiation of monosaccharides and their spatial forms is often challenging. This review presents an overview on sample preparation and the methods used for the determination of the fine chemical structure of natural carbohydrates. Most popular and reliable colorimetric, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods are presented with an emphasis on their pros and cons.