Efficient Production of Scleroglucan by Sclerotium rolfsii and Insights Into Molecular Weight Modification by High-Pressure Homogenization

Scleroglucan is a non-ionic water-soluble polysaccharide, and has been widely used in the petroleum, food, medicine and cosmetics industries. Currently, scleroglucan is mainly produced by Sclerotium rolfsii. A higher level of scleroglucan (42.0 g/L) was previously obtained with S. rolfsii WSH-G01. However, the production of scleroglucan was reduced despite a higher glucose concentration remaining. Additionally, the molecular weight of scleroglucan was large, thus restricted its application. In this study, by adjusting the state of seeds inoculated, the degradation issue of scleroglucan during the fermentation process was solved. By comparing different fed-batch strategies, 66.6 g/L of scleroglucan was harvested by a two-dose fed-batch mode, with 53.3% glucose conversion ratio. To modify the molecular weight of scleroglucan, a combination method with HCl and high-pressure homogenization treatment was established. Finally, scleroglucan with molecular weight of 4.61 × 105 Da was obtained. The developed approaches provide references for the biosynthesis and molecular weight modification of polysaccharides.

The anti-fatigue potential of water-soluble polysaccharides of Semen cassiae on BALB/c mice

Fatigue syndrome is a major health problem that affects the voluntary activities of an individual. Particularly, exercise-induced fatigue has become a serious concern in people's health. Since polysaccharides from various medicinal plants have been reported for anti-fatigue effect, the current study deals with the anti-fatigue potential of water-soluble polysaccharides of the Chinese medicinal plant Semen cassiae (Cassia obtusifolia L.) in BALB/c mice. Water-soluble polysaccharides from Semen cassiae were extracted using aqueous solvent (water). An orthogonal test design was employed for the optimization of polysaccharide extraction. The conditions optimized through this design unveiled the raw materials to solvent ratio as 1:30. The optimal temperature and time duration were found to be 80°C and 3.5 h, respectively. The yield of soluble polysaccharides at these specified conditions was 5.42%. Strikingly, the water-soluble polysaccharide from S. cassiae exhibited strong anti-fatigue activity at 100 mg/kg in BALB/c mice. S. cassiae polysaccharide extended the weight-loaded swimming duration in BALB/c mice. In addition, it ameliorated the level of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GPX) while decreased the blood urea nitrogen, creatine phosphokinase, triglyceride, lactic acid, lactate dehydrogenase, and malondialdehyde levels in blood serum. Moreover, the assessment of the immunomodulatory effect of S. cassia polysaccharides unveiled the enhancement of B-cell and T-cell lymphocytes, denoting the positive effect on physical immunity.

Antioxidant Activities, Functional Properties, and Application of a Novel Lepidium Sativum Polysaccharide Cake Formulation

A novel heteropolysaccharide, named Cress Water Soluble Polysaccharide (CWSP) was purified from Lepidium sativum seeds. Antioxidant activities and functional properties were characterized thermally using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) of CWSP were evaluated. The total antioxidant capacity and the metal chelating activities of CWSP at 3 mg/ml was equivalent to 116.34 µg acsorbic acid and 62.57%, respectively. CWSP were thermally stable and presented high water (WHC) and oil holding (OHC) capacities and good emulsion properties. CWSP was used for the production of cakes. The formulations samples were prepared with different levels of CWSP (0.1; 0.3 and 0.5%) and analyzed during 15 days of storage at room temperature. The obtained results indicated that the addition of CWSP had a significant effect on the texture profile, leading to the increase in all parameters in terms of hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness and chewiness. Moreover, the reformulation samples presented higher a* and lower L* and b* than control sample. The sensory evaluation showed that the formulation of cake with 0.3% of CWSP was the most acceptable. Therefore, CWSP proved to be a new alternative for improving the quality attributes and showed potent antioxidant activities on the shelf life during the storage of bakery foods.

New Water Soluble Polysaccharide From Periploca Laevigata: Functional Characterization and Evaluation of Multi-biological Activities.

The water-soluble polysaccharide was isolated from Periploca laevigata root barks and purified. The structurale, surface, functional properties, and biological activities of P. laevigata polysaccharide (PLP1) were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction crystallography (XRD), were used for structurale characterization of PLP1. SEM analysis suggested that the polysaccharide had irregular particle size with a large number of cavities, mostly seen as aggregates, and fibrous in nature. The samples had peaks at approximately 22°, and 38° 2θ degrees in the XRD pattern, which indicated both crystalline and amorphous structure. Functional properties of PLP1 were investigated based on water and oil holding capacity, solubility, emulsification activity, and foaming ability. Interestingly, PLP1 exhibited, a noticeable ability to emulsify corn and olive oil. Experimental analysis indicated that PLP1 able to decrease surface tension of water of 67.5 mN/m to 43.7 mN/m. On other trend, bioactivities evidenced that PLP1 is a potent protease and lipase inhibitor. The cell viability proved the cytoprotective effect of PLP1 on cell treated with hydrogen peroxide H2O2, suppressing apoptosis and ameliorating oxidative lesions. The experimental data and multi functionality provides enough evidence and open many new possibilities for biomedicine and food applications.