Polysaccharides from Medicine and Food Homology Materials: A Review on Their Extraction, Purification, Structure, and Biological Activities

Abstract

Medicine and food homology (MFH) materials are rich in polysaccharides, proteins, fats, vitamins, and other components. Hence, they have good medical and nutritional values. Polysaccharides are identified as one of the pivotal bioactive constituents of MFH materials. Accumulating evidence has revealed that MFH polysaccharides (MFHPs) have a variety of biological activities, such as antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, hepatoprotective, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and radioprotective activities. Consequently, the research progress and future prospects of MFHPs must be systematically reviewed to promote their better understanding. This paper reviewed the extraction and purification methods, structure, biological activities, and potential molecular mechanisms of MFHPs. This review may provide some valuable insights for further research regarding MFHPs.

Microwave-Assisted Deep Eutectic Solvent Extraction, Structural Characteristics, and Biological Functions of Polysaccharides from Sweet Tea (Lithocarpus litseifolius) Leaves

“…Therefore, owing to these bioactive ingredients, it possesses multiple health benefits, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-hypertensive, anti-microbial, cardioprotective, and hepatoprotective effects [ 1 ]. A large number of studies have shown that natural polysaccharides from edible and medicinal plants possess a variety of biological activities [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], which have attracted increasing attention in the functional food industry. However, the knowledge about the chemical structures and biological functions of sweet tea polysaccharides is still limited [ 5 ], which requires to be deeply investigated so as to promote its applications in the functional food industry.…”

Comparative Study on the Structural Properties and Bioactivities of Three Different Molecular Weights of Lycium barbarum Polysaccharides

“…There are presently no repeatable preparation methods to guarantee the uniformity of samples for activity tests. The nature of LBPs can vary depending on the extraction procedure, resulting in the variation of bioactivities [ 10 , 17 ]. Various methods, such as hot water extraction, ultrasonic-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, etc., can be used to extract polysaccharides, with hot water extraction being the most common method for the preparation of polysaccharides [ 10 ].…”

“…The nature of LBPs can vary depending on the extraction procedure, resulting in the variation of bioactivities [ 10 , 17 ]. Various methods, such as hot water extraction, ultrasonic-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, etc., can be used to extract polysaccharides, with hot water extraction being the most common method for the preparation of polysaccharides [ 10 ]. However, the yield of this method is limited and the process is time-consuming [ 1 ].…”

“…The bioactivities of polysaccharides are dependent on their molecular weight [ 8 , 9 , 10 ], the triple-helix conformation [ 11 ], the monosaccharide content, the glycosidic bonds mode [ 10 ], and the polysaccharide conjugates [ 12 ]. Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) are water-soluble glycoconjugates isolated from Goji berry or wolfberry (Solanaceae), one of the most popular traditional medicine materials.…”

A review of extraction, purification, structural properties and biological activities of legumes polysaccharides

“…Generally, the structural characteristics of plant polysaccharides mainly include monosaccharide composition, molecular weight, chemical structure, and spatial conformation ( 27 ). The homogeneous legumes polysaccharides obtained by separation and purification can be obtained by acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis, periodate oxidation, Smith degradation, infrared spectroscopy (IR), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and other instrumental analysis methods are used to determine the basic chemical structure ( 5 , 30 , 31 , 37 ). The structural characteristics of legumes polysaccharides such as monosaccharide composition, molecular weight, chemical structure and biological activity are summarized in Table 2 .…”