Exhaustive extraction of the endosperm from the seed of Gleditsia triacanthos using water at room temperature and 50 degrees C left a residue, which was further extracted at 95 degrees C. Precipitation of this extract with 2-propanol yielded major amounts of galactomannan components, while the supernatant was mainly composed of arabinose-rich constituents. Two fractions were obtained by anion-exchange chromatography. The fraction that eluted with water is an arabinan with (1-->5) alpha-L linkages and branching mainly on C-2, accompanied with equal amounts of a low-galactose galactomannan oligosaccharide, and a small proportion of a beta-(1-->4)-galactan. The fraction eluted with an increased ionic strength consists mainly of a similar arabinan, and lower proportions of a high-galactose galactomannan, galactan, and protein. The arabinan moiety in both fractions was characterized by chemical analysis and 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques.