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Marine-Based Carbohydrates as a Valuable Resource for Nutraceuticals and Biotechnological Application
Published in Se-Kwon Kim, Marine Biochemistry, 2023
Rajni Kumari, V. Vivekanand, Nidhi Pareek
It is classified on the basis of molecular size and degree of polymerization into monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides (Knudsen et al., 2013). Monosaccharides are the simplest sugar and have the chemical formula (CH2O)n, where n is the number of carbon atoms in a molecule (Vaclavik et al., 2008), that cannot be further hydrolyzed. The rest of the other saccharides are linked by glycosidic bonds and hydrolyzed into simpler units. For example, fructose, galactose, and glucose are the main source of energy preferentially utilized by the brain and red blood cells (Ferrier, 2014). Disaccharides comprise two monomer sugar units linked by glycosidic bonds. Sucrose, lactose, trehalose, and maltose belong to disaccharides. Oligosaccharides are composed of a few monosaccharide units (2 to 20 units) (Roberfroid and Slavin, 2000) which are soluble in 80% ethanol, but intestinal enzymes are unable to digest them. Fructo-oligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides, and mannan-oligosaccharides are examples of oligosaccharides (Englyst et al., 2007). Polysaccharides belong to high-molecular-weight polymeric monosaccharide units, and the degree of polymerization ranges from 70,000 to 90,000, depending on the type of polysaccharide (BeMiller, 2018). They are neither sweet in taste nor utilized directly like other carbohydrates. They may be linear (starch, cellulose) or branched (amylopectin, glycogen), homopolysaccharides (cellulose, glycogen) or heteropolysaccharides (hyaluronic acid, arabinoxylans) (Slavin, 2012).
Methodology
Published in Wilson Harvey, Alan Bennett, Prostaglandins in Bone Resorption, 2020
So tissue culture has to be a compromise, and it is wise to interpret the results of in vitro experiments with a pinch of physiological saline! In the context of PGs and the behavior of bones or isolated bone cells in culture, an important artifact will be the accumulation of PGs and their metabolites in the culture media. The removal of PGs from tissues in vivo is usually efficient and they are quickly removed from the circulation, thus tissue concentrations will normally be very low. Because any PGs synthesized in culture will be trapped in the medium, the culture of a bone under “control” conditions, i.e., with a basal level of PG synthesis, may result in its exposure to PG concentrations far higher than would occur in vivo. Even if these concentrations are not high enough to promote significant resorption alone, they may well enhance the resorbing activity of another agent, such as bacterial lipopoly saccharides.12
Carbohydrates
Published in Geoffrey P. Webb, Nutrition, 2019
Carbohydrates are monomers or polymers of simple sugar units or saccharides. Carbohydrates may be described according to the number of saccharide units they contain i.e. the monosaccharides (one), the disaccharides (two), the oligosaccharides (a few) and the polysaccharides (many). Although there are a range of monosaccharides present in human diets, three of them make up the bulk of the monosaccharide that is released for absorption and utilisation during the digestion of most diets, namely glucose, galactose and fructose. These three monosaccharides each contain six carbon atoms and are therefore termed hexoses. The two five-carbon sugars (pentoses), ribose and deoxyribose, will be released from the digestion of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA in food.
Isolation, characterisation and complement fixation activity of acidic polysaccharides from Argemone mexicana used as antimalarials in Mali
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2022
Adama Dénou, Adiaratou Togola, Kari Tvete Inngjerdingen, Nastaran Moussavi, Frode Rise, Yuan Feng Zou, Dalen G. Dafam, Elijah I. Nep, Abubakar Ahmed, Taiwo E. Alemika, Drissa Diallo, Rokia Sanogo, Berit Smestad Paulsen
Currently, bioactive phytocompounds have received great attention because of their vital health-related activities, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticoagulant and antidiabetic activities, UV protection, antiviral and hypoglycaemic activities, etc. (Ullah et al. 2019). Among these components, carbohydrates known as saccharides are molecules consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They can also be sulphated and contain amino sugars. Carbohydrates such as monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides represent the most abundant biomolecules and essential components of many natural products and have attracted the attention of researchers because of their numerous human health benefits (Ruocco et al. 2016). Malian antimalarial plants contain polysaccharides (Dénou et al. 2019). From the outcomes of the polysaccharide screening on antimalarial plants used in Mali, Argemone mexicana was selected for deep investigations of its bioactive polysaccharides.
Carbohydrates based stimulus responsive nanocarriers for cancer-targeted chemotherapy: a review of current practices
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 2022
Cheng-Wu Zhang, Jun-Gang Zhang, Xue Yang, Wen-Lin Du, Zi-Lin Yu, Zhen-Ye Lv, Xiao-Zhou Mou
Carbohydrates (or saccharides) are one of the four primary groups of macromolecules, along with lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Carbohydrates provide unparalleled prospects for nanomedicine applications due to their unique mix of several benefits: (ii) biodegradable/biocompatible (ii) commercially accessible (iv) protein repellent (v) strong water solubility (vii) no agglomeration. Unlike proteins and nucleic acids, the connecting sites between sugar units are not fixed when oligo/polysaccharides are shaped by elongating chains and branch formation. Regioisomers may be produced due to lengthening the sugar sequence at various hydroxy groups, which results in a significant increase in coding capacity. Twenty amino acids yield 6.4 × 107 hexapeptide isomers, but an oligosaccharide with the same number of hexose repeating units yields 1.44 × 1015 isomers [10]. Additionally, the bulk of carbohydrates are present on the outer membranes of cells, in blood and extracellular fluid [11], providing an optimal biological environment for the intravenous administration of nanomedicines.
Microbially-derived cocktail of carbohydrases as an anti-biofouling agents: a ‘green approach’
Published in Biofouling, 2022
Harmanpreet Kaur, Arashdeep Kaur, Sanjeev Kumar Soni, Praveen Rishi
Exopolysaccharides constitute the most significant component, about 95% of the EPS matrix, as shown in Fig. 2 and, therefore, widely studied (Sutherland 2001). To date, the chemical composition of exopolysaccharides has not been wholly unraveled. The exopolysaccharides in the biofilm matrix differ in their chemical composition and properties as some are neutral, while others have been reported to be either polyanionic or polycationic (Limoli et al. 2015). They can interact and associate with other biopolymers found within the EPS matrix; such interactions, environmental factors, and multispecies biofilms comprising various bacterial or fungal species influence the properties of exopolysaccharides, whereby a range of polysaccharides are generated with unique architectures (Jenkinson and Lamont 1997). They are crucial for biofilm formation, cell aggregation, provide mechanical stability, and confer exceptional survival benefits to the microorganisms; for example, they serve as carbon and energy sources, especially during times of nutrition deficiency (Lembre et al. 2012; Heredia-Ponce et al. 2021). The biofilm polysaccharides are composed of homo and heteropolysaccharides, mainly glucose, mannose, galactose, fructose, mannuronic acid, and glucuronic acid. Furthermore, different bonds between the saccharides give rise to a multitude of different polysaccharides, including cellulose, dextrans, levan, mannans, and alginate (Limoli et al. 2015). The exopolysaccharides are primarily divided into three main classes: (i) architectural, (ii) aggregative, and (iii) protective based upon their role in biofilm development.