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Starch is a common ingredient to improve gel property of freshwater fish surimi, but the function of natural starch to mask fishy odor compounds in surimi products has not been investigated systematacially. Therefore, this study aimed to determine which natural starch could effectively mask fishy odor compounds and clarify their interaction by GC-MS, FT-IR spectroscopy, raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance. The results showed that when the concentration, crystal type, amylose content, and dispersion degree of starch was 1 %, type C, 48 % (w/v), and 200 mesh with 0.88 span, the starch had the strongest masking effect on typical fishy odor compounds, namely hexanal, 1-Octen-3-ol, (E,E)-2,4-Heptadienal and (E)-2-Octenal. It indicated that complexation and hydrogen bonding both occurred between the fishy odor compounds and starch., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This research paper presents a comprehensive investigation into developing biodegradable films for food packaging applications using chitosan (CN) in conjunction with three distinct types of cellulose (CE), each characterized by varying viscosities. The primary objective was to assess the influence of cellulose viscosity on the physical, mechanical, and barrier properties of the resulting films. The medium-viscosity cellulose imparted numerous advantageous qualities to the biodegradable films. These films exhibited optimal thickness (31 μm), ensuring versatility in food packaging while maintaining favorable mechanical properties, blending strength, and flexibility. Also, medium-viscosity cellulose significantly improved the films' barrier performance, particularly regarding oxygen permeability [1.80 × 10 -6 (g.mm.m -2 . s -1 )]. Furthermore, the medium-viscosity cellulose contributed to superior moisture-related properties, including reduced water vapor permeability [14.80 × 10 -9 (g.mm.m -2 . s -1 . Pa -1 )], moisture content (13.22 %), and water solubility (22.87 %), while maintaining an appropriate degree of swelling (41.88 %). Moreover, the study employed advanced analytical techniques, including FTIR, XRD, and TGA, to provide critical insights into the films' chemical, structural, and thermal aspects. This research underscored the importance of the viscosity of film formulation materials as a crucial element in designing and efficiently producing films for food packaging., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The effects of the L-hisdine (L-His)-assisted ultrasound on physicochemical characteristics and conformation of myofibrillar protein (MP) under reduced-salt condition were investigated using spectroscopic analysis, and the binding mechanism between L-His and MP was further elucidated through molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. UV second derivative spectra and intrinsic Try fluorescence spectra revealed that L-His formed a complex with MP and altered the microenvironment of MP. After L-His-assisted ultrasound treatment, MP showed smaller particle size, higher solubility, and more uniform atomic force microscopy image due to the decrease of α-helix content and the subsequent increase in zeta potential, active sulfhydryl content, and surface hydrophobicity. Molecular docking and MD simulations demonstrated the optimal docking pose (minimum binding affinity of -6.78 kcal/mol) and revealed hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds as the main interaction forces between L-His and MP, with several residues (ILE-464, ILE-480, THR-483, ASN-484, GLY-466, ASP-463, PHE-246) identified as binding sites., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a kind of high-purity cellulose biomaterial with a unique three-dimensional structure. To improve the mechanical properties and reinforce the BC composite films, in this study, we provide in detail a simple, fast, and environmentally-friendly method to prepare a biodegradable composite film using chitosan (CS) with different molecular weights and BC with excellent dispersion. The water moisture content (MC), water solubility (WS), contact angle (CA), mechanical properties and barrier properties were measured to assess the effect of CSn-OBC composite films. The morphology, structural and thermal properties of the films were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, spectral analysis, thermogravimetry and X-ray diffraction. Results showed that the biodegradable film prepared by grafting chitosan with high molecular weight and uniformly dispersing bacterial cellulose exhibited superior mechanical properties, water resistance, and thermal stability, which are essential characteristics for commercial applications in complex environments., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Chitosan (C) and zein (Z) were used to develop bilayer films with a characteristic one-way water barrier using a layer-by-layer (LBL) casting method. The effects of mass ratios (C:Z 1:1 , C:Z 1:2 , C:Z 1:3 , C:Z 3:1 , C:Z 2:1 ) on the microstructure and physicochemical properties of bilayer films were investigated. Bilayer films had uniform microstructures, and C:Z = 1:3 showed a firmer structure as the Z aggregates were distributed in the continuous phase of C. The intermolecular interactions between the C and Z layers were observed using FTIR and XRD analysis. TGA demonstrated that adding Z layer enhanced the thermal stability of C films. LBL coating gave the C/Z bilayer film an increased elongation and tensile strength, as well as a decreased water vapor and oxygen permeability, especially for C:Z = 1:3 which had better properties. The results suggested that C and Z bilayer films may be a promising material for food packaging with the desired water resistance., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study introduces a facile method for synthesizing O-benzoylselenoglycolic chitosan with a high selenium concentration of 45.32 mg/g. The characterizations of the chemical structure via FTIR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, TGA, and XRD analyses indicated that benzoylselenoglycolic acid was successfully grafted onto the C6 hydroxyl group of chitosan. The anti-cancer activity of the O-benzoylselenoglycolic chitosan was investigated in vitro using a HepG2 cell model, and the results indicated that it has excellent anticancer activity against HepG2 cancer cells with an IC 50 value of 0.53 μg/mL while exhibiting non-toxicity against normal cells (L-02). Furthermore, a mechanistic study revealed that the O-benzoylselenoglycolic chitosan could induce early apoptosis, G2/M, S phase arrest, and activation of caspase-3 activity to inhibit the HepG2 cell growth. This study has led to novel organic selenium species, and the results suggest its potential to be used as an effective ingredient for cancer prevention and therapy in the food and pharmaceutical fields., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Herein, the effects of chitosan (CH) coating with different water-soluble polyphenol extracts (pomegranate peel (PPE), grape seed (GSE) and green tea (GTE)) through vacuum impregnation on the quality retention and microflora of refrigerated grass carp fillets were studied. Generally, the quality degradation of carp fillets was remarkably alleviated using coatings when compared to the control. As suggested by microbial enumeration and high-throughput sequencing, protective coatings were conductive to inhibit bacteria growth, especially spoilage bacteria of Pseudomonas. As a result, the indicator related to bacteria such as total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and K value had lower levels in coating groups than that in control. In addition, coating also slowed down the deterioration of physical properties of color, texture and water holding capacity in fillets, giving fillets a better edible quality. By contrast, the fillets treated by composite coatings had better quality during storage when compared to chitosan coating alone, and a relatively good synergistic antibacterial effect between chitosan and extracts was also observed, especially for CH-GTE. Overall, the best performance to inhibit quality deterioration was recorded in CH-GTE, with the lowest values of TVB-N, TBARS, K-value and water loss, and highest values of shear force and sensory preference among groups., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The objectives of the present study are to synthesize a series of chitosan oligosaccharide-O-Terpenol (COS-O-Ter) derivatives and their implication to evaluate in vitro antibacterial activity. Herein, a general strategy is described for preparing COS-O-Ter derivatives, including substitution and deprotection reactions. The structures of COS-O-Ter derivatives were characterized by FT-IR, 1 H NMR, XRD, TGA, and elemental analysis. COS-O-Ter derivatives revealed the excellent solubility and in vitro antibacterial activity. Moreover, their antibacterial activities were more sensitive to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) than Escherichia coli (E. coli) indicating the effective potential application of COS-O-Ter derivatives as natural antibacterial agents. The aforementioned study opens a pave to expand the application scope of COS and its derivatives in the food and pharmaceutical industries., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Synthetic selenium polysaccharides with potential bioactivity have drawn great interest due to the SeO bonds existing in the structure. Herein, N, O-selenized N-(2-carboxyethyl) chitosan (sNCCS) was synthesized through carboxyethylation and selenylation. Various characterizations were performed to identify the structure of sNCCS, indicating that SeO bonds were formed both at the C-6 hydroxyl groups and the introduced C-2 carboxyethyl groups. The highest yield and selenium content of all sNCCS reached 84.5% and 1.553 mg/g, respectively. In vitro evaluation exhibited that sNCCS has excellent bile acid binding capacity, which was 1.63, 2.00, and 2.55-fold higher than that of N-(2-carboxyethyl) chitosan (NCCS). Moreover, it was found that higher selenium content could significantly enhance the antioxidant properties of sNCCS. Importantly, no obvious cytotoxic effect had been observed on Caco-2 cells. Taken together, sNCCS with desirable biological activity and non-cytotoxicity might be considered as an effective ingredient in the fields of food or medicine., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Tuna fish oil (TFO), is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids comprising particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which are essential for the human's health enhancement. However, their foremost problems are poor solubility, low bioavailability, and easy oxidization, which limit their wide range of applications in food and pharmaceutical products. The aim of this research is to develop TFO nanoemulsions encapsulating curcumin (CUR) and resveratrol (RES) as co-antioxidants, stabilized with different concentrations of two modified starches including Purity Gum 2000 (PG) and Purity Gum Ultra (PGU). The effect of diverse quantities of modified starches on droplet size, droplet charges, viscosity, and oxidative stability of produced nanoemulsions was assessed at different storage temperatures (4, 25, and 40 °C). Furthermore, to assess the antioxidant activity and capacity of loaded nanoemulsions, DPPH, and ABTS assays were used, respectively. Among various samples, PGU2.5 and PG9 emulsified by PGU and PG2000 had showed the premium results of stability during storage at all temperatures over other formulations. Even at 40 °C, 199.10 μL/mL of PGU2.5 and 258.59 μL/mL of PG9 were required to attain the level of DPPH IC 50 , which were the lowest concentration as compare to other nanoemulsions. Taken together, it was accredited that co-encapsulation of CUR and RES inside the TFO nanoemulsion-based delivery systems can be efficient for the production of functional foods., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

In this study, chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) was modified by grafting Linalool (Lin) on its backbone to improve its anti-inflammatory activity. By changing the molar ratios of COS to Lin, three different degrees of substitution COS-g-Lin1-3 were prepared. The degrees of substitution of derivatives were 0.65, 0.80 and 1.14 respectively. The structure of COS-g-Lin1-3 were characterized by UV-vis, FT-IR, 1 H NMR and elemental analysis in order to show the COS-g-Lin1-3 successfully synthesized. Besides, the thermal stability, solubility, pH stability as well as crystallinity were also investigated. The results revealed that the derivatives exhibited higher thermal stability and more remarkable anti-inflammatory property against hyaluronidase and collagenase than that of COS. The good biocompatibility made this novel material a promising and effective compound for anti-inflammatory applications., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The effect of fully deacetylated chitosan (FDCH) edible coating combined with kojic acid (KA) and clove essential oil (CEO) as natural preservatives was investigated on the shelf-life of white prawn shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) during 15 days at cold storage. The results indicated that FDCH 1 :KA 0.25 :CEO 0.25 coating significantly inhibited the increase in total aerobic plate count, total volatile basic nitrogen content and pH of shrimp in comparison with the control. Moreover, compared with the control, the changes of total color difference (ΔE values) and melanosis were significantly retarded, and the texture parameters and sensory scores were significantly improved in shrimp treated by FDCH 1 :KA 0.25 :CEO 0.25, suggesting that there is a synergistic effect between FDCH, KA, and CEO. In addition, a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in weight loss was observed for coated shrimp during the storage. The results suggested that FDCH 1 :KA 0.25 :CEO 0.25 coating may be promising to be used as active packaging for extending the shelf life, and incorporation of KA and CEO may enhance the efficacy of the coating., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The correlation between microbiota succession and flavor development in Chinese traditional fermented fish (Suanyu) inoculated with mixed starter cultures was studied. The results showed that 17 free amino acids, 22 free fatty acids and 9 organic acids were present. A total of 81 aroma compounds were detected during Suanyu fermentation. Aldehydes were the most abundant aroma compounds in the early stage of fermentation and esters contributed most to the aroma in the later stage of fermentation. The correlation analysis of microbial succession and flavor dynamics based on bidirectional orthogonal partial least squares (O2PLS) suggested that in addition to starter cultures, other microorganisms including 2 bacteria genera and 11 fungi genera were also responsible for the formation of flavor compounds. These results may help focus further research to improve the flavor quality of traditional fermented fish., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors attested that there were no conflicts of interest with respect to this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of long-term storage at various temperatures (4, 25, and 35°C) on flavor and microbiological and physicochemical qualities of traditional Chinese low-salt fermented fish (Suanyu). Food spoilage and pathogenic bacteria (coliforms, Pseudomonas, and Salmonella) were inhibited during the 90 days of storage at all temperatures. Lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and total viable bacteria counts of samples stored at 35°C were reduced sharply, whereas other parameters were stable. Compared with refrigerated storage (4°C), higher storage temperatures (25 and 35°C) accelerated moisture migration, lipid oxidation, and proteolytic degradation. Storage time had a greater effect than storage temperature on the increase of volatile compounds in Suanyu. Refrigerated storage was better than higher storage temperatures (25 and 35°C) for maintaining the odor quality of Suanyu during the storage period. Total biogenic amine concentrations in all samples were ≪200 mg/kg. Suanyu can be consumed safely during 90 days of storage based on the levels of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria and concentrations of biogenic amines, but refrigerated storage effectively slows down the microbial and physicochemical changes, resulting in better organoleptic quality. The results of this study will be useful for processors controlling the safety and quality of fermented fish during transport and storage., (Copyright ©, International Association for Food Protection.)

Chitosan and kojic acid composite films (CHn-KAm) utilizing three chitosan with differing molecular weights and kojic acid in different ratios were investigated. Results showed that chitosan with higher molecular weights presented higher viscosity, mechanical properties and lower water vapor permeability. Furthermore, kojic acid addition further significantly decreased apparent viscosity, water content, water vapor permeability as well as increasing the antibacterial activity of the films. Increasing the kojic acid concentration resulted in increased levels of a*, b*, ΔE*, opacity values and a decreased L* value, as compared to chitosan films. The mechanical properties of CHn-KAm films increased significantly with kojic acid addition into chitosan. FTIR spectral analyses revealed a strong interaction in the film matrix consistent with composite film mechanical and physical properties. The CHn-KAm films showed significant antibacterial effectiveness. The results suggested that the use of chitosan with a higher molecular weight as CHn-KAm films is expected to be a promising material for food packaging., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Varisized chitosan-selenium (CS-Se) nanocomposites were synthesized through an innovative method. It is the first time to use CS both as reductant and stabilizer to synthesize selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs). By manipulating the temperature, the well-dispersed CS-Se nanocomposites were synthesized via a simple one pot reaction with the size ranging from 83 to 208nm before being characterized by TEM, DLS, UV-vis, FTIR, XRD and TG analyses. The results showed that SeO 3 2- was reduced to a stable SeNPs colloid at a comparatively high temperature, the amino group and hydroxyl group of CS were conjugated to the surface of SeNPs. Besides, the antioxidant activities of CS-Se nanocomposites were investigated by DPPH, ABTS + , hydroxyl radical, metal ion chelating and reducing power assays, which proved to be concentration-dependent, size-dependent and exhibited good antioxidant activities. The results suggested that CS-Se nanocomposites might be considered as a more appropriate selenium-adding form to achieve antioxidative goals in food., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The purpose of this work was to develop a nontoxic bioactive material based on a natural pyrone compound (kojic acid, KA) and chitosan oligosaccharides (COS). The bioactive material, chitosan oligosaccharide-N-kojic acid polymer (COS-N-KA), was prepared by one-step environmentally friendly approach. Then, the physicochemical properties and biological activities of COS-N-KA as a prepared water-soluble COS derivative were evaluated. The polymer was characterized by using UV-vis, FTIR, 1 H NMR, and 13 C NMR spectroscopy, Mw, PID, TGA, water solubility, hemolysis assay, and animal toxicity studies. Particularly, the antioxidant and antimicrobial assays revealed that COS-N-KA significantly enhanced the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, which remarkably stronger than that of free COS and KA. Hence, the low hemolytic activity to human red blood cells, and nontoxic to female mice of SLAC KM strain made this novel polymer material a promising and effective compound for food and pharmaceutical industries., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Transcriptome analysis was performed to investigate the alterations in gene expression after chitosan (CS) treatment on the liver of mice fed with high-fat diet (HFD). The results showed that the body weight, the liver weight and the epididymal fat mass of HFD mice, which were 62.98%, 46.51% and 239.37%, respectively, higher than those of control mice, could be significantly decreased by chitosan supplementation. Also, high-fat diet increased both plasma lipid and liver lipid as compared with the control mice. Chitosan supplementation decreased the plasma lipid and liver lipid, increased the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic lipase (HL) activity, increased T-AOC and decreased MDA in the liver and the epididymis adipose as compared with the HFD mice. Transcriptome analysis indicated that increased Mups, Lcn2, Gstm3 and CYP2E1 expressions clearly indicated HFD induced lipid metabolism disorder and oxidative damage. Especially, chitosan treatment decreased the Mup17 and Lcn2 expressions by 64.32% and 82.43% respectively as compared with those of HFD mice. These results indicated that chitosan possess the ability to improve the impairment of lipid metabolism as strongly associated with increased Mups expressions and gene expressions related to oxidative stress., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel chitosan-based coating solution was prepared by combining glycerol monolaurate (GML) for shelf life extension of refrigerated grass carp fillets. The control and coated fillets were analyzed periodically for physicochemical (pH, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) value, K value, and shear force), microbiological (total viable counts (TVC), psychrophilic bacteria counts (PTC), Pseudomonads and H 2 S-producing bacteria) and sensorial characteristics. The results showed that chitosan-GML coated samples presented better quality preservation effects than chitosan coating alone. In addition, 2% chitosan enriched with 0.3% GML showed the significant (P<0.05) effectiveness in inhibiting microbial growth, nucleotide breakdown, the formation of alkaline components and texture deterioration, and maintaining sensory acceptability among the groups. These findings confirmed that chitosan coating enriched with GML was a promising method to extend the shelf life of refrigerated fillets., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

N,O-Carbonylated chitosan derivative (NTCS) was synthesized via oxidation and substitution reaction, respectively. The carboxyethylation of the polysaccharide was identified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Zeta potential measurement and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It is revealed that compared with chitosan (CS), NTCS exhibited an excellent solubility in distilled water, high in vitro bile acid binding capacity, as well as a low viscosity. The in vitro bile acid binding capacity reached 17.21mg/g, which was 4.5-fold higher than that of CS. The results suggest that NTCS may be useful as a potential functional food supplement in food industry or a key ingredient in the pharmaceutical industry. These findings provide important supports for developing new food additive, and expand the scope of application of CS in the food industry., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The effect of media milling on lipid-lowering and antioxidant activities of chitosan was studied in rats fed high-fat diets. Results showed that media-milled chitosan was more effective than chitosan in reducing body weight gain and liver fat accumulation of rats. Compared with chitosan, the reducing effects of media-milled chitosan on serum triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were increased by 10.1, 7.5 and 10.2%, and liver TG and TC-reducing effects were increased by 16.2 and 14.6%, respectively. Rats fed media-milled chitosan showed decreased levels of free fatty acid (FFA) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The cholesterol and fat in feces of rats fed media-milled chitosan were higher than those of rats fed chitosan. These results suggested media milling enhanced the lipid-lowering and antioxidant activities of chitosan, and the reason might be partly due to its effect on strengthening the ability of chitosan in promoting fecal lipid excretions., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

High molecular weight chitosan (HMWCS) is effective at hemostasis and wound healing, and will be potentially used on injured internal organs. To study its prenatal and developmental effect in vivo, forty-four ICR pregnant mice per group were singly injected intraperitoneally at 0, 125, 500 or 2000 mg/kg body weight, respectively, on gestation day 6 (GD6). Clinical signs, reproductive capacity, fetus and infant developments, and histopathological changes were then observed. The results showed that the treatment of HMWCS could decrease body weights and food consumptions, and induce diarrhea, vaginal bleeding, and some other adverse effects in F0 mice. For the emaciation and threatened abortion of pregnant mice, the numbers of live fetuses and early resorption were reduced significantly in HMWCS groups. However, the developments of F1 and F2 mice were not affected, except for lower weights of the body and some organs. In addition, the NOAEL of HMWCS in maternal toxicity was considered to be less than 125 mg/kg, and the NOAEL in developmental toxicity was 125 mg/kg., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Functional immobilized metal affinity magnetic carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles (abbreviated as Fe(3)O(4) (PEG+CM-CTS) @ Fe (III)) were conveniently applied for phosvitin phosphopeptides (PPPs) enrichment for the first time. The morphology of magnetic nanoparticles was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). It was found that the diameter of Fe(3)O(4) (PEG+CM-CTS) @ Fe (III) was about 20 nm, and could easily aggregate by a magnet when suspending in the aqueous solution. In the PPPs enrichment study, the results obtained emphasized the role of pH, temperature and the initial concentration of the peptides solution in governing the efficiency and mechanism of affinity interactions. Due to the large specific surface area, the enrichment of PPPs onto the Fe(3)O(4) (PEG+CM-CTS) @ Fe (III) nanoparticles was promising. The adsorption equilibrium of PPPs onto the obtained magnetic nanoparticles fitted well with the Langmuir model, and the nitrogen/phosphorus molar ratio (N/P) which at the maximum enrichment capacity for PPPs was 4.83. Due to the small diameter, the decrease of the N/P is particularly rapid in the early enrichment stages (0-30 min) to reach a plateau after 60 min. Compared with traditional methods, the need for preparation of phosvitin before purification is obviated and PPPs of higher purity were obtained. Since the preparation, surface modification and affinity separation processes of the magnetic nanoparticles are cost-effective, convenient and efficient, this type of Fe(3)O(4) (PEG+CM-CTS) @ Fe (III) nanoparticles would bring advantages compared to conventional separation techniques of PPPs from chicken egg yolk, as well as for phosphopeptides enrichment in proteomics research., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Acid hydrolysis and subsequent quantification of glucosamine (GlcN) are widely used for chitosan quantification. Degradation of GlcN during chitosan hydrolysis was the main reason for the decrease of recovery, which made the method improper for the quantification of chitosan. Ten milligram of chitosan hydrolyzed with 10 mL mixed acid solution of HCl-H₃PO₄ (75:25 in molar ratio) showed the highest recovery, significantly higher than HCl hydrolysis. Further study revealed that the optimum conditions involved the hydrolysis with HCl-H₃PO₄ (4.5:1.5M) for 24 h at 110 °C. The hydrolysate was neutralized and derived with 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl chloride (FMOC-Cl) before HPLC quantification. The optimum ratio of FMOC-Cl:GlcN was 53:1, with excess FMOC-Cl induced by the high ionic strength of the solution. This quantification procedure was then validated and proved to be specific, with good linearity, accuracy, and precision, making it well-suited for the determination of chitosan., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The hypolipidemic activities of high (712.6 kDa) and low (39.8 kDa) molecular weight chitosan (HMWC and LMWC) were evaluated in rats fed high-fat diets. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats in four groups were fed on three high-fat diets with each of them containing HMWC, LMWC or cellulose (high-fat control), and a control normal-fat diet for eight weeks. Compared with HMWC group, LMWC group showed decreased body weight gain, serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), as well as decreased liver triglyceride (TG). Fecal fat and cholesterol of LMWC group was lower than those of HMWC group. However, the activities of liver and serum lipoprotein lipase (LPL) of LMWC group were increased compared with HMWC group. The obtained results suggested that hypolipidemic activity of LMWC was better than HMWC, which might be partially attributed to the increase of serum and liver LPL activities., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Monodispersed and functional immobilized metal affinity magnetic chondroitin sodium sulfate nanoparticles (short as IMAN @ Fe (III)) were prepared and employed in extracting of Phosvitin Phosphopeptides (short as PPPs) from egg yolk. It was found that the diameter of the magnetic CS nanoparticles was about 20 nm, and they could easily be aggregated by a magnet when suspending in the aqueous solution. The adsorption equilibrium of PPPs onto the obtained nanocarriers fitted well with the Langmuir model. The adsorption capacity of PPPs onto the superparamagnetic nanoparticles was influenced by pH and the initial concentration of the peptides solution. The final nitrogen/phosphorus molar ratios (short as N/P) of PPPs from crude egg yolk peptides and phosvitin peptides were low to 5.78 and 5.23, respectively. Compared with traditional methods, the need for preparation of phosvitin before purification is obviated and the higher purity of PPPs were obtained. In conclusion, this type of IMAN @ Fe (III) would bring advantages to the conventional separation techniques of PPPs from chicken egg yolk., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A new electrochemical method for the determination of aloe polysaccharide based on its interaction with alizarin red s was established on a pretreated glassy carbon electrode in pH 3.5 Britton-Robinson buffer solution by linear sweep voltammetry in this work. The decrease of the second order derivative linear sweep voltammetric reductive peak current of alizarin red s is in proportion to aloe polysaccharide concentration due to the formation of a complex between them in the range from 0.032 to 0.448μmolL(-1), and the detection limit is 0.0051μmolL(-1) (3σ). The binding ratio and the binding constant of the complex were calculated as 1:1 and 2.75×10(4), respectively. Different kinds of complex samples of aloe polysaccharide were detected satisfactorily by this method., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chitosan has excellent emulsifying properties. Emulsifying activity and stability of chitosan were determined by integrated light scattering technique and turbidimetric method. The effects of concentration, degree of deacetylation and molecular weight on emulsifying properties of chitosan were systematically studied in the paper. Emulsifying activity of chitosan initially increased, arrived at the peak at 0.75% and then declined, while emulsifying stability continuously increased with a rise of chitosan concentration from 0.25% to 1.25%. Emulsifying activity and stability of chitosan initially decreased and reached the minimum, then increased with the rise of degree of deacetylation. Chitosan with DD 60.5% and 86.1% showed superior emulsifying activity and stability. Chitosan with low Mw exhibited better emulsifying activity than those with high Mw. Chitosan with Mw 410 kDa and 600 kDa showed superior emulsifying activity in the test range. Emulsifying stability of chitosan increased with a rise of Mw., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chitooligosaccharides were prepared through hydrolysis of colloidal chitosan by enzyme source from Aspergillusfumigatus BSF114. Chitosan pentamer (COS5) and chitosan hexamer (COS6) were isolated and purified from COS by the ultra-filtration, nano-filtration, ethanol precipitation and the CM-Sephadex C-25 column. COS5 consisted of (GlcN)4 (59.84%) and (GLcN)5 (40.16%). COS6, however, mainly consisted of (GLcN)6 (93.11%) and (GLcN)(5) (6.89%). Effects of COS5 and COS6 in vivo and in vitro on gene expression of cell surface CR3 receptor were investigated by relatively quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA. The results showed that the expression of CR3 mRNA could be promoted by both COS5 and COS6. The promotion effect caused by COS6 was greater than that of COS5.

An exo-beta-D-glucosaminidase gene was cloned from Aspergillus sp. CJ22-326 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified protein showed an exo-chitosanase activity in a viscosimetric assay and TLC analysis. This is the first report on cloning of a gene encoding an Aspergillus sp. exo-beta-D-glucosaminidase.

An endo-chitosanase gene was cloned from Aspergillus sp. CJ22-326 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified protein showed an endo-chitosanase activity during viscosimetric assay and TLC analysis. The enzyme had higher chitosanolytic activity than previously reported fungal chitosanases.

PIP60-1, a novel heteropolysaccharide isolated from fruiting bodies of the medicinal fungus, Phellinus igniarius, has a molecular weight of 1.71 x 10(4)Da and is composed of L-fucose, D-glucose, D-mannose, D-galactose and 3-O-Me-D-galactose in a ratio of 1:1:1:2:1. A structural investigation of PIP60-1 carried out using sugar and methylation analyses, combined with (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, including COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, HSQC and HMBC experiments, established the repeating unit of the polysaccharide as the following: [structure: see text]