Marine algae have attracted a great deal of interest as excellent sources of nutrients. Polysaccharides are the main components in marine algae, hence a great deal of attention has been directed at isolation and characterization of marine algae polysaccharides because of their numerous health benefits. In this review, extraction and purification approaches and chemico-physical properties of marine algae polysaccharides (MAPs) are summarized. The biological activities, which include immunomodulatory, antitumor, antiviral, antioxidant, and hypolipidemic, are also discussed. Additionally, structure-function relationships are analyzed and summarized. MAPs’ biological activities are closely correlated with their monosaccharide composition, molecular weights, linkage types, and chain conformation. In order to promote further exploitation and utilization of polysaccharides from marine algae for functional food and pharmaceutical areas, high efficiency, and low-cost polysaccharide extraction and purification methods, quality control, structure-function activity relationships, and specific mechanisms of MAPs activation need to be extensively investigated.

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A novel water-soluble polysaccharide-protein complex (PRW1) isolated from the sclerotia of an edible mushroom Polyporus rhinocerus which was purified by membrane ultrafiltration could significantly activate murine macrophages RAW264.7 in vitro. PRW1 had a molecular weight of less than 50 kDa and was found to be a highly branched heteropolysaccharide-protein complex composed of 45.7 ± 0.97% polysaccharide and 44.2 ± 0.41% protein. Based on the results of total acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the carbohydrate moiety of PRW1 was found to be a β-d-mannoglucan with its backbone containing →1)-d-Glcp-(4→, →1)-d-Glcp-(6→, and →1)-d-Manp-(2→ residues (molar ratio of 5:4:6) and having terminal d-Glcp as side chain (degree of branching of 0.62). In vitro studies showed that PRW1 significantly induced NO production and enhanced the release of a variety of cytokines including G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-6, IL12p40/70, MCP-1, MCP-5, MIP-1-α, MIP-2, RANTES, sTNFRI, and TNF-α. Mechanistically, PRW1 treatment triggered ERK phosphorylation to activate macrophages within 15 min and significantly increased the expression level of inducible NOS after 6 h. In summary, this study indicates that PRW1 derived from the sclerotia of P. rhinocerus is a potential immunomodulatory agent for cancer immunotherapy.

Long-term stable cell growth and production of vindoline, catharanthine, and ajmalicine of cambial meristematic cells (CMCs) from Catharanthus roseus were observed after 2 years of culture. C. roseus CMCs were treated with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) individually or in combination and were cultured both in conventional Erlenmeyer flasks (100, 250, and 500 mL) and in a 5-L stirred hybrid airlift bioreactor. CMCs of C. roseus cultured in the bioreactor showed higher yields of vindoline, catharanthine, and ajmalicine than those cultured in flasks. CMCs of C. roseus cultured in the bioreactor and treated with 10 mM β-CD and 150 μM MeJA gave the highest yields of vindoline (7.45 mg/L), catharanthine (1.76 mg/L), and ajmalicine (58.98 mg/L), concentrations that were 799, 654, and 426 % higher, respectively, than yields of CMCs cultured in 100-mL flasks without elicitors. Quantitative reverse transcription (RT)-PCR showed that β-CD and MeJA upregulated transcription levels of genes related to the biosynthesis of terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs). This is the first study to report that β-CD induced the generation of NO, which plays an important role in mediating the production of TIAs in C. roseus CMCs. These results suggest that β-CD and MeJA can enhance the production of TIAs in CMCs of C. roseus, and thus, CMCs of C. roseus have significant potential to be an industrial platform for production of bioactive alkaloids.

Background Angiogenesis is crucial for many pathological processes and becomes a therapeutic strategy against diseases ranging from inflammation to cancer. The regulatory mechanism of angiogenesis remains unclear. Although tetraspanin CD82 is widely expressed in various endothelial cells (ECs), its vascular function is unknown. Methods and Results Angiogenesis was examined in Cd82-null mice with in vivo and ex vivo morphogenesis assays. Cellular functions, molecular interactions, and signaling were analyzed in Cd82-null ECs. Angiogenic responses to various stimuli became markedly increased upon Cd82 ablation. Major changes of Cd82-null ECs were enhanced migration and invasion, likely resulting from the upregulated expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) such as CD44 and integrins at the cell surface and subsequently elevated outside-in signaling. Gangliosides, lipid raft clustering, and CD44-membrane microdomain interactions were increased in the plasma membrane of Cd82-null ECs, leading to less clathrin-independent endocytosis and then more surface presence of CD44. Conclusions Our study reveals that CD82 restrains pathological angiogenesis by inhibiting EC movement, lipid raft clustering and CAM trafficking modulate angiogenic potential, and the perturbation of CD82-ganglioside-CD44 signaling attenuates angiogenesis.

Diabetes is one of the most costly of the chronic diseases and is increasing in epidemic proportions in developing countries. It has been found that some antioxidants play a role in protection against oxidative stress, which is associated with diabetes. In this study, enzyme-released feruloyl oligosaccharides from wheat bran were given intragastrically (ig) to test their effect on antioxidant capacity, body weight restoring capacity, and serum glucose level in alloxan-induced diabetic Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, using sodium ferulate and vitamin C as positive control groups. The levels of blood glucose, total antioxidant capacity (TAOC), and malondiadehyde (MDA) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and xanthine oxidase (XOD) were determined in rat serum, liver, and testes. Feruloyl oligosaccharides significantly increased TAOC level, GSH-Px, and SOD activities, but decreased blood glucose and MDA levels and XOD activity in serum, liver, and testes of diabetic rats compared to diabetic controls. Feruloyl oligosaccharides were, overall, more efficient in mitigating oxidative damage in diabetic rats than sodium ferulate and vitamin C. In this feruloyl oligosaccharide feeding study, the antioxidant restoring capacity varied across the tissues observed, and also the activity change of the various antioxidant enzymes varied within a single tissue. Feruloyl oligosaccharides showed greater antioxidant capacity in vivo than in vitro when compared with vitamin C.

Calcium pectinate (CaP) was prepared from citrus pectin using either calcium chloride (C-CaP) or calcium hydroxide (HO-CaP) as the source of calcium for the reaction. The production yields and the rates of decalcification for the two calcium pectinates were compared and both found to be lower for C-CaP than for HO-CaP. In an attempt to explain these differences, certain chemical and structural characteristics of the two products, including functional groups (-CH3, C═O, COO-), rheological properties, morphology, and egg-box junction zones, were investigated by Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, rheology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results from FTIR showed that, with an increase in calcium content, the wavenumber values and peak areas of FTIR for -CH3, C═O, and COO- groups all changed dramatically for C-CaP, while they were virtually unchanged for HO-CaP. Rheological analysis of the CaP gel showed that C-CaP had a stronger cross-linked network structure and a greater range of elastic behavior as compared to HO-CaP. SEM images of two CaP gels showed irregular membranes. C-CaP maintained a tight structure and a smooth surface, whereas HO-CaP was loose and rough. The results from XRD revealed a higher degree of crystallinity within C-CaP than within HO-CaP, which indicated that C-CaP possessed compact, ordered, and stable egg-box junction zones while the junction zones in HO-CaP were metastable and loose.

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