Characterization and Bioactivities of Polysaccharides

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2026 | Viewed by 451

Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
Interests: plant polysaccharides; functional foods; food biotechnology; molecular nutrition; gut microbiota and metabolism; bioactive resources

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Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Engineering, Guangdong Ocean University, Yangjiang 529500, China
Interests: bioactive compounds; food flavor chemistry; chemical structure analysis; human health; physiological functions

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Guest Editor
College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Interests: functional foods; medicinal and edible fungi; gut microbiota-host interactions; molecular mechanisms; glucose metabolism; caenorhabditis elegans
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polysaccharides, as essential bioactive components, play a pivotal role in functional food development and human health promotion. This Special Issue aims to provide an international academic platform for showcasing the latest advances, emerging challenges, and future perspectives in polysaccharide research. Contributions highlighting novel methods, molecular mechanisms, and structure–function correlations are particularly encouraged. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Novel sources of and green extraction technologies for food-derived polysaccharides.
  • Advanced structural characterization techniques and structure–activity relationship analysis.
  • Biological activities (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, prebiotic, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, etc.) and underlying mechanisms.
  • Molecular modification (chemical, enzymatic, physical) to enhance functionality and stability.
  • Interactions between polysaccharides and other food components (proteins, lipids, etc.).
  • Applications in functional food development, encapsulation, and food packaging.
  • Industrialization challenges and sustainable utilization strategies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ruibo Jia
Prof. Dr. Donghui Luo
Dr. Zirui Huang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • plant polysaccharides
  • functional foods
  • extraction technology
  • structural characterization
  • biological activities
  • structure–activity relationship

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 21325 KB  
Article
Dietary Fiber from Baijiu Distillers’ Grains Improves Glucose–Lipid Homeostasis via Gut–Liver Metabolic Remodeling
by Shangwu Chen, Kaizhang Wu, Wenqing Yu, Xiaoning Zhai, Zecheng Zhang, Yang Zheng and Jie Gao
Foods 2026, 15(12), 2163; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15122163 - 15 Jun 2026
Viewed by 281
Abstract
Baijiu distillers’ grains (BDG), a major fermented cereal by-product of baijiu production, represent an underutilized source of structurally modified dietary fiber with potential value for functional food development. Here, we found that BDG-derived dietary fiber (BDG-DF), mainly composed of mannose (34.83 ± 0.38%) [...] Read more.
Baijiu distillers’ grains (BDG), a major fermented cereal by-product of baijiu production, represent an underutilized source of structurally modified dietary fiber with potential value for functional food development. Here, we found that BDG-derived dietary fiber (BDG-DF), mainly composed of mannose (34.83 ± 0.38%) and xylose (35.14 ± 0.25%), promoted short-chain fatty acid production during in vitro fermentation, and its fermentation supernatants reduced IL-1β and TNF-α levels and modestly decreased IL-6 production in a Caco-2/HepG2 co-culture model. In T2D mice, BDG-DF improved glucose tolerance, with high-dose BDG-DF reducing the OGTT area under the curve by 12.4% compared with the T2D group, and alleviated hepatic steatosis. These effects were accompanied by enrichment of Akkermansia and Bifidobacterium and remodeling of bile acid profiles. High-dose BDG-DF was also associated with elevated CA and CDCA levels, altered TGR5/GLP-1 signaling, increased hepatic FXR expression, and reduced CYP7A1 expression. Integrated hepatic proteomics and metabolomics further indicated that BDG-DF was associated with changes in unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and PPAR-γ-related metabolic signaling. Overall, these findings suggest that BDG-DF may improve glucose–lipid homeostasis in association with gut microbiota and bile acid remodeling and hepatic PPAR-γ-related metabolic signaling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Bioactivities of Polysaccharides)
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