Biosynthesis of food constituents: Saccharides. 2. Polysaccharides &ndash; a review

This review article gives a survey of the selected principal biosynthetic pathways that lead to the most important polysaccharides occurring in foods and in food raw materials and informs non-specialist readers about new scientific advances as reported in recently published papers. Subdivision of the topic is predominantly done via biosynthesis and includes reserve polysaccharides (starch and glycogen, fructans), plant cell wall polysaccharides (cellulose and callose, pectin), and animal polysaccharides (chitin and glycosaminoglycans). Extensively used are the reaction schemes, sequences, and mechanisms with the enzymes involved and detailed explanations using sound chemical principles and mechanisms.  

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Biosynthesis of food constituents: Saccharides. 1. Monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and related compounds – a review

Czech Journal of Food Sciences ◽

10.17221/3383-cjfs ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 23 (No. 4) ◽

pp. 129-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

J. Velíšek ◽

K. Cejpek

Keyword(s):

Raw Materials ◽

Review Article ◽

Biosynthetic Pathways ◽

Sugar Alcohols ◽

Sugar Nucleotides ◽

Sugar Phosphates ◽

Related Compounds ◽

Reaction Schemes ◽

Scientific Advances

This review article presents a survey of selected principal biosynthetic pathways that lead to the most important monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, sugar alcohols, and cyclitols in foods and in food raw materials and informs nonspecialist readers about new scientific advances as reported in recently published papers. Subdivision of the topics is predominantly via biosynthesis. Monosaccharides are subdivided to sugar phosphates, sugar nucleotides, nucleotide-glucose interconversion pathway sugars, nucleotide-mannose interconversion pathway sugars, and aminosugars. The part concerning oligosaccharides deals with saccharose, trehalose, raffinose, and lactose biosynthesis. The part devoted to sugar alcohols and cyclitols includes the biosynthetic pathways leading to glucitol, inositols, and pseudosaccharides. Extensively used are reaction schemes, sequences, and mechanisms with the enzymes involved and detailed explanations employing sound chemical principles and mechanisms.    

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Plant Cell Wall Hydration and Plant Physiology: An Exploration of the Consequences of Direct Effects of Water Deficit on the Plant Cell Wall

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10071263 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 1263

Author(s):

David Stuart Thompson ◽

Azharul Islam

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Water Content ◽

Bacterial Cellulose ◽

Plant Cell ◽

Cell Walls ◽

Plant Cell Wall ◽

Plant Cell Walls ◽

Cell Wall Polysaccharides ◽

Degree Of Hydration ◽

Cellulose Composites

The extensibility of synthetic polymers is routinely modulated by the addition of lower molecular weight spacing molecules known as plasticizers, and there is some evidence that water may have similar effects on plant cell walls. Furthermore, it appears that changes in wall hydration could affect wall behavior to a degree that seems likely to have physiological consequences at water potentials that many plants would experience under field conditions. Osmotica large enough to be excluded from plant cell walls and bacterial cellulose composites with other cell wall polysaccharides were used to alter their water content and to demonstrate that the relationship between water potential and degree of hydration of these materials is affected by their composition. Additionally, it was found that expansins facilitate rehydration of bacterial cellulose and cellulose composites and cause swelling of plant cell wall fragments in suspension and that these responses are also affected by polysaccharide composition. Given these observations, it seems probable that plant environmental responses include measures to regulate cell wall water content or mitigate the consequences of changes in wall hydration and that it may be possible to exploit such mechanisms to improve crop resilience.

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PUL-Mediated Plant Cell Wall Polysaccharide Utilization in the Gut Bacteroidetes

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22063077 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 3077

Author(s):

Zhenzhen Hao ◽

Xiaolu Wang ◽

Haomeng Yang ◽

Tao Tu ◽

Jie Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Gut Microbiota ◽

Plant Cell ◽

Plant Cell Wall ◽

Cell Wall Polysaccharide ◽

Prominent Feature ◽

Cell Wall Polysaccharides ◽

Gut Microbial Community

Plant cell wall polysaccharides (PCWP) are abundantly present in the food of humans and feed of livestock. Mammalians by themselves cannot degrade PCWP but rather depend on microbes resident in the gut intestine for deconstruction. The dominant Bacteroidetes in the gut microbial community are such bacteria with PCWP-degrading ability. The polysaccharide utilization systems (PUL) responsible for PCWP degradation and utilization are a prominent feature of Bacteroidetes. In recent years, there have been tremendous efforts in elucidating how PULs assist Bacteroidetes to assimilate carbon and acquire energy from PCWP. Here, we will review the PUL-mediated plant cell wall polysaccharides utilization in the gut Bacteroidetes focusing on cellulose, xylan, mannan, and pectin utilization and discuss how the mechanisms can be exploited to modulate the gut microbiota.

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