The chemical structure of kefiran, the water-soluble polysaccharide of the kefir grain

Antitumor Activity in Mice of Orally Administered Polysaccharide From Kefir Grain

“…The mechanism of production of the polysaccharide in the Kefir grain was studied by Riviere and Kooiman (1967). Kooiman (1968) Two million cells of Ehrlich carcinoma were inoculated subcutaneously into the right flank of male ddY mice on day 0. The number of mice is shown in parentheses.…”

Fractionation and Characterization of Bioactive Components in Kefir Mother Culture that Inhibit Proliferation of Cultured MCF-7 Human Breast-Cancer Cells

“…One of the main components of the bioactive antiproliferative kefir fractions is composed of lactose and acetic acid, possibly an end product of fermentation of the milk protein and sugar by the kefir bacteria and yeast. The lactose polymer suggests that the active component may be fragments of previously isolated polysaccharides termed as kefirans (Kooiman, 1968). Kefiran is a water-soluble polysaccharide consisted of approximately equal proportions of D-glucose and D-galactose (Kooiman, 1968;Micheli et al, 1999).…”

“…The lactose polymer suggests that the active component may be fragments of previously isolated polysaccharides termed as kefirans (Kooiman, 1968). Kefiran is a water-soluble polysaccharide consisted of approximately equal proportions of D-glucose and D-galactose (Kooiman, 1968;Micheli et al, 1999). Kefiran has been reported to have antitumor activity (Shiomi et al, 1982;Murofushi et al, 1983).…”

Atividade antiinflamatória de carboidrato produzido por fermentação aquosa de grãos de quefir

“…Esse resultado difere dos trabalhos de Maeda et al, 8 Frengova et al, 19 Yang et al, 27 Micheli et al, 5 Mukai et al 28 e Kooiman, 29 onde se utilizou leite como substrato de cultivo, os quais encontraram glicose e galactose como monossacarídios principais de composição da matriz polimérica.…”