An Overview of Structural Aspects and Health Beneficial Effects of Antioxidant Oligosaccharides

Abstract

Background: Non-digestible oligosaccharides are versatile sources of chemical diversity, well known for their prebiotic actions, found naturally in plants or produced by chemical or enzymatic synthesis or by hydrolysis of polysaccharides. Compared to polyphenols or even polysaccharides, the antioxidant potential of oligosaccharides is still unexplored. The aim of the present work was to provide an up-to-date, broad and critical contribution on the topic of antioxidant oligosaccharides. Methods: The search was performed by crossing the words oligosaccharides and antioxidant. Whenever possible, attempts at establishing correlations between chemical structure and antioxidant activity were undertaken. Results: The most representative in vitro and in vivo studies were compiled in two tables. Chitooligosaccharides and xylooligosaccharides and their derivatives were the most studied up to now. The antioxidant activities of oligosaccharides depend on the degree of polymerization and the method used for depolymerization. Other factors influencing the antioxidant strength are solubility, monosaccharide composition, the type of glycosidic linkages of the side chains, molecular weight, reducing sugar content, the presence of phenolic groups such as ferulic acid, and the presence of uronic acid, among others. Modification of the antioxidant capacity of oligosaccharides has been achieved by adding diverse organic groups to their structures, thus increasing also the spectrum of potentially useful molecules. Conclusion: A great amount of high-quality evidence has been accumulating during the last decade in support of a meaningful antioxidant activity of oligosaccharides and derivatives. Ingestion of antioxidant oligosaccharides can be visualized as beneficial to human and animal health.

Supplementing Chitosan Oligosaccharide Positively Affects Hybrid Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀ × E. lanceolatus ♂) Fed Dietary Fish Meal Replacement With Cottonseed Protein Concentrate: Effects on Growth, Gut Microbiota, Antioxidant Function and Immune Response

“…These results suggest that COS supplementation can alleviate the antioxidant burden induced by plant protein substitution, thereby refining the antioxidant capacity of this grouper species. Previous studies have suggested that, in addition to its antioxidant properties, COS has a variety of biological activities such as scavenging free radicals and inducing the expression of antioxidant enzymes and genes (Joodi et al, 2011;Sun et al, 2011;Vieira et al, 2020). The amino, primary, and secondary hydroxyl groups in the COS molecule are the structural bases for its antioxidant function (Tao et al, 2007).…”

Safe production of Aspergillus terreus xylanase from Ricinus communis: gene identification, molecular docking, characterization, production of xylooligosaccharides, and its biological activities

“…Accordingly, our results agree with yet another study [56], which recorded that the scavenging activity gradually increased constantly to 85.7% for DPPH and 65.5% for hydroxyl radical at a concentration of 2.5 mg/ml. A recent study [57] also announced that the antioxidant activity of XOS may be attributed to the presence of ester-linked hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, such as ferulic acid, coumaric caffeic acid, syringic acid residues, and methyl-glucuronic acid ramifications on the xylan chain. Moreover, research [58] reported that the antioxidant capacity of XOS obtained from arabinoxylan correlated with the degree of ferulic acid substitution.…”

Neurocosmetics in Skincare—The Fascinating World of Skin–Brain Connection: A Review to Explore Ingredients, Commercial Products for Skin Aging, and Cosmetic Regulation

“…In summary, in terms of cosmetic benefits, Neuroguard's neuroprotective action prevents neuro-aging by protecting neurons from free radicals' toxicity, stimulates the synthesis of the neuroprotector sAPPα, restores a healthy communication between nerve cells and fibroblasts, protecting dermal cells from aging, and prevents fibro-aging by protecting and reactivating collagen and elastin synthesis [279,286,287].…”