The Extraction, Structure and Bioactivities of Plant Polysaccharides

Dear Colleagues,

Food ingredients are any substances that are added to foods to exert health benefits, and they exist widely in natural plants, animals, and microorganisms. Increasing numbers of in vivo and vitro studies have suggested that oral bioactive polysaccharides can directly improve anti-cancer, anti-immune-response, anti-bacterial, hypoglycemic, or antioxidant abilities of food ingredients. Polysaccharides exhibit a molecular structure that can be linear or highly branched, composed by the same (homopolysaccharide) or different (heteropolysaccharide) monosaccharide units. Structural differences confer distinct physical and chemical properties. In addition, most natural polysaccharides, as dietary fiber, could regulate gut microbiota and the associations of gut microbial dysbiosis with prevalent metabolic diseases. Thus, there is an urgent need to further explore the structure and bioactivities to polysaccharides, which have been implicated in diabetes, obesity, hyperuricemia, cardiovascular, and other metabolic diseases.

The Special Issue, entitled ‘The Extraction, Structure and Bioactivities of Plant Polysaccharides’, will discuss the recent advances in the structure–function relationships of natural polysaccharides. Both relative reviews and research papers are welcome. 

Dr. Chun Chen
Guest Editor

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