The Fascinating Story of Natural Polysaccharides in Glycosciences: From Extraction to Applications

Dear Colleagues,

For a long time, natural biopolymers, such as polysaccharides, have fascinated humanity. Polysaccharides are certainly one of the greatest varied families of bio-polymers in terms of structure and use. Depending on the origin (animal, plant, algal or microbial), polysaccharides may be linear, substituted, or more or less branched. Polysaccharides are highly variable and complex biomolecules of which the inventory of structures is still partial, as nature still preserves many of the unexplored biotopes. In this context, many works from all over the world have led to the discovery of original polysaccharides extracted from medicinal plants and algae, or produced from bacteria and microalgae, with high potential as food ingredients or as biological assets. Their main roles in the organism are to either provide structural support as a constituent of a cell wall or to store energy in the cell. Some polysaccharides and/or their oligosaccharide derivatives may be involved in cellular and sub-cellular communication processes, as in the case of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Consequently, this Special Issue aims to (i) review and identify the main polysaccharides from all biotopes (plant, bacteria, animal and microalgae), from the past to the present, and (ii) identity the lastest bioactive polysaccharides and their techno-functional derivatives (low molecular weight, oligosaccharides, hydrogels, etc.) with advantageous effects in the agricultural, pharmaceutical and food fields.

Prof. Delattre Cedric
Guest Editor

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