New Horizons in Probiotics: Unraveling the Potential of Edible Microbial Polysaccharides through In Vitro Digestion Models

In vitro digestion models, as innovative assessment tools, possess advantages such as speed, high throughput, low cost, and high repeatability. They have been widely applied to the investigation of food digestion behavior and its potential impact on health. In recent years, research on edible polysaccharides in the field of intestinal health has been increasing. However, there is still a lack of systematic reviews on the application of microbial-derived edible polysaccharides in in vitro intestinal models. This review thoroughly discusses the limitations and challenges of static and dynamic in vitro digestion experiments, while providing an in-depth introduction to several typical in vitro digestion models. In light of this, we focus on the degradability of microbial polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, with a particular emphasis on edible microbial polysaccharides typically utilized in the food industry, such as xanthan gum and gellan gum, and their potential impacts on intestinal health. Through this review, a more comprehensive understanding of the latest developments in microbial polysaccharides, regarding probiotic delivery, immobilization, and probiotic potential, is expected, thus providing an expanded and deepened perspective for their application in functional foods

The Structure, Function, Modification Methods and Application in Food Field of Curdlan

Curdlan is a natural exopolysaccharide produced by microorganisms without branching structure which is composed of glucose linked with β-1,3 glycosidic bonds, and used as a stabilizer, thickener in the food industry. Curdlan exhibits excellent functional properties such as gelling ability, anti-digestion and immunomodulatory effects, but the water-insoluble property of curdlan greatly limits its wide applications. Modification of curdlan can enhance its functional properties, especially the water-soluble ability of curdlan, which will expand its development and utilization in food area. In this review, the effects of modification methods on the functional properties of curdlan are discussed from three aspects: Physical modification, chemical modification and enzymatic modification. Moreover, this review highlights the recent research trends in curdlan applications in the food industry in recent years from four perspectives: Food packing materials, improving food texture, developing bionic food and functional food carrier. Overall, curdlan has great potential to be used in food industries. This review provides a reasonable reference for the further development and application of curdlan

Anticancer Activity of Polysaccharides Produced from Glycerol and Crude Glycerol by an Endophytic Fungus <i>Chaetomium</i> <i>globosum</i> CGMCC 6882 on Human Lung Cancer A549 Cells

Two polysaccharides were produced by Chaetomium globosum CGMCC 6882 from glycerol (GCP-1) and crude glycerol (GCP-2). Chemical characteristics results showed GCP-1 and GCP-2 were similar polysaccharides, but the molecular weights of GCP-1 and GCP-2 were 5.340 &#215; 104 Da and 3.105 &#215; 104 Da, respectively. Viabilities of A549 cells after treatment with GCP-1 and GCP-2 were 49% and 39% compared to the control group. Meanwhile, flow cytometry results indicated that GCP-1 and GCP-2 could induce 17.79% and 24.28% of A549 cells to apoptosis with 200 &#956;g/mL concentration treated for 24 h. RT-PCR results suggested that GCP-1 and GCP-2 could be used as potential and effective apoptosis inducers on A549 cells by increasing BAX, CASPASE-3, CASPASE-9, TIMP-1, TIMP-2 expression and decreasing BCL-2 expression. This research provided an innovative approach to using a byproduct of biodiesel production (crude glycerol) to produce polysaccharides of potential medicinal benefit

Typing of Blood-Group Antigens on Neutral Oligosaccharides by Negative-Ion Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Blood-group antigens, such as those containing fucose and bearing the ABO­(H)- and Lewis-type determinants expressed on the carbohydrate chains of glycoproteins and glycolipids, and also on unconjugated free oligosaccharides in human milk and other secretions, are associated with various biological functions. We have previously shown the utility of negative-ion electrospay ionization tandem mass spectrometry with collision-induced dissociation (ESI-CID-MS/MS) for typing of Lewis (Le) determinants, for example, Le^a, Le^x, Le^b, and Le^y on neutral and sialylated oligosaccharide chains. In the present report, we extended the strategy to characterization of blood-group A-, B-, and H-determinants on type 1 and type 2 and also on type 4 globoside chains to provide a high sensitivity method for typing of all the major blood-group antigens, including the A, B, H, Le^a, Le^x, Le^b, and Le^y determinants, present in oligosaccharides. Using the principles established, we identified two minor unknown oligosaccharide components present in the products of enzymatic synthesis by bacterial fermentation. We also demonstrated that the unique fragmentations derived from the D- and ^0,2A-type cleavages observed in ESI-CID-MS/MS, which are important for assigning blood-group and chain types, only occur under the negative-ion conditions for reducing sugars but not for reduced alditols or under positive-ion conditions

The specificity of ten non-digestible carbohydrates to enhance butyrate-producing bacteria and butyrate production in vitro fermentation

Butyrate and butyrate-producing bacteria are important indicators of gut microbial metabolism in human health. Ten non-digestible carbohydrates (NDCs), including inulin, fructooligosaccharide (FOS), oats β-glucans (OGS), oats β-glucan oligosaccharides (OGOS), Astragalus polysaccharides (APS), Astragalus oligosaccharides (AOS), xanthan gum oligosaccharides (XGOS), gellan gum oligosaccharides (GGOS), curdlan oligosaccharides (COS), and pullulan oligosaccharides (POS) were used to investigate NDC specificity in modulating butyrate-producing bacteria and butyrate production in 48-h in vitro fermentation studies in combination with fecal inocula from 7 healthy donors and 11 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We observed that the amount of these ten NDCs utilized depended on NDC structure and inter-individual gut microbial differences. XGOS and GGOS fermentations significantly increased butyrate-producing bacteria (especially f_Lachnospiraceae) and butyric acid production. Furthermore, XGOS and GGOS fermentations showed a better ability to consistently modulate gut microbiota composition and metabolic properties between individuals of healthy donors or T2D patients when compared to inulin, FOS, APS, AOS, OGS, OGOS, COS and POS fermentation. This research indicated that xanthan gum and gellan gum oligosaccharides have strong specificity to enhance butyrate-producing bacteria and butyrate production