Measuring NSC: are we all measuring the same thing?

Quantification of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in plant material has received considerable attention in the last decade. Different techniques and variants for estimating soluble sugars (SS) and starch (St) are applied, but uncertainty remains as how values across studies and laboratories compare. Because no reference technique is available, a comparison study was developed to identify variations in SS and St between laboratories, and possible causes of variation related to extraction and/or determination methods. Large variations between laboratories existed. Our study demonstrated the challenge in accurately reproducing and comparing NSC assays. Yet, procedures standardization remains problematic, making comparisons of results difficult.