RESUMO
It has been shown that gamma-irradiation of solutions of carbohydrates in the presence of sulfates and metal oxide sols results in oxidative and destructive processes and leads to formation of carbonile compounds, organic acids, H2CO, and a substance with lambda max= =261 nm. With respect to their catalytic effect on carbohydrate changes, the sulfates and metal oxide sols investigated may be arranged into the following order: CuSO4 > > MnSO4=NiSO4 > ZnSO4 > H2O (salt free glucose solution); MoO3 > V2O5 > Al2O3 > > H2O (glucose solution without metal oxide sol). Radiolysis of glucose, mannose and arabinose is affected by the nature of gas saturating the solutions: O2 > Ar > CO2. Ionizing irradiation of solutions of hexoses and pentoses which contain nitrates as the source of nitrogen, results in the formation of amino acids with the chain length from 2 to 6 atoms of carbon (gly, ser, lys, ala, asp, his, tre, val, glu).