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Marine seaweeds are rich source of polysaccharides present in their cell wall and are cultivated and consumed in China, Japan, Korea, and South Asian countries. Brown seaweeds (Phaeophyta) are rich source of polysaccharides such as Laminarin and Fucoidan. In present study, both the laminarin and fucoidan were isolated was yielded higher in PP (Padina pavonica) (4.36%) and STM (Stoechospermum marginatum) (2.32%), respectively. The carbohydrate content in laminarin and fucoidan was 86.91% and 87.36%, whereas the sulphate content in fucoidan was 20.68%. Glucose and mannose were the major monosaccharide units in laminarin (PP), however, fucose, galactose, and xylose in fucoidan (STM). FT-IR down peaks represent the carbohydrate of laminarin and fucoidan except, for 1219 cm−1, and 843 cm−1, illustrating the sulphate groups of fucoidan. The molecular weight of laminarin was 3–5 kDa, and the same for fucoidan was 2–6 kDa, respectively. Both the Fucoidan and Laminarin showed null cytotoxicity on Vero cells. Contrastingly, the fucoidan possess cytotoxic activity on human liver cancer cells (HepG2) (IC50—24.4 ± 1.5 µg/mL). Simultaneously, laminarin also shown cytotoxicity on human colon cancer cells (HT-29) (IC50—57 ± 1.2 µg/mL). The AO/EB (Acriding Orange/Ethidium Bromide) assay significantly resulted in apoptosis and necrosis upon laminarin and fucoidan treatments, respectively. The DNA fragmentation results support necrotic cancer cell death. Therefore, laminarin and fucoidan from PP and STM were potential bioactive compounds for anticancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doenjang , a widely consumed fermented soybean paste in Korea, contains abundant carbohydrates. However, the composition of various monosaccharides present in fermented foods has not been thoroughly investigated. Thus, we used a rapid and accurate liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to simultaneously analyze monosaccharides in the soybean paste. The method exhibited excellent linearity, sensitivity, and accuracy as confirmed by spiking experiments. In the soybean paste, we identified 11 monosaccharides, with galactose, glucose, and arabinose being predominant, alongside galacturonic acid, N -acetylglucosamine, and glucuronic acid. Analyzing 8 modified and 9 traditional soybean paste samples from different regions, we found a significant correlation between manufacturing method and monosaccharide profiles, with traditional soybean paste exhibiting greater monosaccharide diversity. This method is adaptable for rapid and efficient analysis of monosaccharides in various fermented foods. [Display omitted] • An LC-MS/MS method identified a comprehensive range of monosaccharides in doenjang. • Monosaccharide profiles were distinguished in modified vs. traditional doenjang. • Traditional doenjang had greater monosaccharide diversity. • The method is adaptable for rapid monosaccharide analysis in fermented soybean foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Changes in monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and microbial communities during the fermentation of meju were evaluated. • Lactic acid bacteria and Mucor dominate during the meju fermentation. • Mucor may degrade dietary fiber, while Weissella breaks down and utilizes oligosaccharides and monosaccharides. • Correlation analysis reveals the relationships between the key microorganisms and major saccharides. Meju is essential for making diverse traditional fermented soybean foods in Korea. To understand the changes in carbohydrates during fermentation, we aimed to identify autochthonous microorganisms from spontaneously fermented meju and compare the alterations in monosaccharides and oligosaccharides throughout the fermentation process. Microbial diversity was determined using a metabarcoding approach, and monosaccharide and oligosaccharide profiles were obtained by HPLC-Q-TOF MS and HPLC-MS/MS analyses, respectively. The dominant bacterial genera were Weissella , Lactobacillus , and Leuconostoc , while Mucor was highly abundant in the fungal community. The total monosaccharide content increased from Day 0 to Day 50, with the highest amount being 4.37 mg/g. Oligosaccharide profiling revealed the degradation of soybean dietary fiber during fermentation, and novel oligosaccharide structures were also discovered. Correlation analysis revealed that the fungus Mucor was positively related to pentose-containing oligosaccharides, galactose, and galacturonic acid, indicating that Mucor may degrade soybean dietary fibers such as xylogalacturonan, arabinogalactan, and rhamnogalacturonan. The negative relationships between the abundances of Weissella and oligo- and monosaccharides suggested that the bacteria may utilize saccharides for fermentation. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms underlying carbohydrate degradation and utilization; the key components involved in saccharide transformation that contribute to the characteristics of traditional meju were subsequently identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angelica gigas (A. gigas) is traditional medicinal herb that mainly exists in Korea and northeastern China. There have been relatively few studies conducted thus far on its polysaccharides and their bioactivities. We purified and described a novel water-soluble polysaccharide derived from A. gigas and investigated its immunoenhancing properties. The basic components of crude and purified polysaccharides (F1 and F2) were total sugar (41.07% - 70.55%), protein (1.12–10.33%), sulfate (2.9–5.5%), and uronic acids (0.5–31.05%) in total content. Our results demonstrated that the crude and fractions' molecular weights (M w) varied from 42.2 to 285.2 × 103 g/mol. As the most effective polysaccharide, F2 significantly stimulated RAW264.7 cells to release nitric oxide (NO) and express several cytokines. Furthermore, F2 increased the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-gamma (IFN-ɣ), natural killer cytotoxicity receptors (NKp44), and granzyme-B in NK-92 cells and enhanced the cytotoxicity against HCT-116 cells. In our experiments, we found that F2 stimulated RAW264.7 cells and NK-92 cells via MAPK and NF-κB pathways. The monosaccharide and methylation analysis of the high immunostimulant F2 polysaccharide findings revealed that the polysaccharide was primarily composed of 1 → 4, 1 → 6, 1 → 3, 6, 1 → 3 and 1 → 3, 4, 6 galactopyranose residues, 1 → 3 arabinofuranose residues, 1 → 4 glucopyranose residues. These results demonstrated that the F2 polysaccharide of A. gigas which possesses potential immunostimulatory attributes, could be used to create a novel functional food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The native ability of Clostridium thermocellum to efficiently solubilize cellulose makes it an interesting platform for sustainable biofuel production through consolidated bioprocessing. Together with other improvements, industrial implementation of C. thermocellum, as well as fundamental studies into its metabolism, would benefit from improved and reproducible consumption of hexose sugars. To investigate growth of C. thermocellum on glucose or fructose, as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms, laboratory evolution was performed in carbon-limited chemostats with increasing concentrations of glucose or fructose and decreasing cellobiose concentrations. Growth on both glucose and fructose was achieved with biomass yields of 0.09±0.00 and 0.18±0.00 gbiomass gsubstrate-1, respectively, compared to 0.1560.01 gbiomass gsubstrate -1 for wild type on cellobiose. Single-colony isolates had no or short lag times on the monosaccharides, while wild type showed 4264 h on glucose and .80 h on fructose. With good growth on glucose, fructose, and cellobiose, the fructose isolates were chosen for genome sequence-based reverse metabolic engineering. Deletion of a putative transcriptional regulator (Clo1313_1831), which upregulated fructokinase activity, reduced lag time on fructose to 12 h with a growth rate of 0.11±0.01 h-1 and resulted in immediate growth on glucose at 0.2460.01 h-1. Additional introduction of a G-to-V mutation at position 148 in cbpA resulted in immediate growth on fructose at 0.3260.03 h-1. These insights can guide engineering of strains for fundamental studies into transport and the upper glycolysis, as well as maximizing product yields in industrial settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have reported that xylose selectively inhibited the activity of sucrase. Xylose supplementation may have a beneficial effect on the postprandial glycemic response. However, no studies have investigated patients with IFG or the effectivity of a dose of D-xylose less than 10 % (w/w).Methods: The present study determined the effect of xylose consumption on postprandial hyperglycemia in normal (n = 25) and hyperglycemic subjects (n = 50). Subjects in this double-blind crossover design study were randomly assigned to consume a sucrose drink (Control, sucrose 50 g + deionized water 100 g) or a sucrose drink additionally containing 5 g (Test 1, sucrose:xylose = 10:1), 3.33 g (Test 2, sucrose:xylose = 15:1), or 2.5 g (Test 3, sucrose:xylose = 20:1) of D-xylose separated by a one-week interval.Results: Normal subjects in all test groups exhibited a significant decrease in serum glucose levels 15 min and 30 min after consuming the xylose-containing drinks compared to the control group. Significantly lower serum levels of insulin were observed at 15 min and 30 min after consuming the xylose-containing drinks compared to the control group. The test 1 group also exhibited a significantly lower insulin area under the curve than the control group. Hyperglycemic subjects (n = 50) in all test groups exhibited a significant decrease in serum glucose levels at 30 min compared to the control group. However, the test 1 group exhibited a significant increase in serum glucose levels at 120 min compared to the control group. Glucose-related markers did not significantly differ in each group.Conclusion: Xylose supplementation may exert a beneficial effect on postprandial glycemic responses in subjects with normal glucose levels and prediabetes.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02654301 . Registered 12 January 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the anti-metastatic effect of the pectic polysaccharide HBE-0, extracted from peels of Hallabong, Korea citrus by pectinase digestion and ethanol precipitation. HBE-0 comprises 64.4% neutral sugars and 31.7% uronic acid including 14 types of monosaccharides. IL-6 and IL-12 were secreted in a dose-dependent manner by peritoneal macrophages stimulated with HBE-0. Intravenous administration of HBE-0 significantly augmented the cytolytic activity of NK cells. In lung metastasis assays using Colon26-M3.1 carcinoma cells, prophylactically intravenous administration of HBE-0 at a dose of 50 mg/kg showed up to 90% inhibitory effect on lung metastasis. Furthermore, NK cells depletion by anti-asialo-GM1 partially reduced the inhibitory effect of HBE-0 on lung metastasis. Further, oral administration of HBE-0 induced NK cell cytotoxicity and dose-dependently inhibited lung metastasis. These results suggest that HBE-0 isolated from Hallabong peels possesses anti-metastatic activity and supports its potential as a health-functional or pharmacological agent in commercial applications by increasing the high added-value of discarded agricultural byproducts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies Sphingomonas sp. CS101, an exopolysaccharide-producing bacterium, by researchers from Seoul, South Korea. Success of the researchers in isolating Spingomonas sp. CS101; Analysis on the sugar composition of the exopolysaccharide; Presence of glucose, mannose, fucose and rhamose in the exopolysaccharide secretion of Spingomonas sp. CS101.