Seaweed Polysaccharides: Innovations in Isolation, Characterization, Chemical Modification and Processing

A special issue of Polysaccharides (ISSN 2673-4176).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 1466

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Humboldtstr. 10 , 07743 Jena, Germany
Interests: polysaccharide chemistry; polysaccharide derivatives; biomaterials; nanomaterials; structure characterization; hydrogels

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Seaweed biomass has been used for centuries, primarily in the food sector. In recent years, it has gained increasing attention as a renewable feedstock for producing high-value and sustainable products. Polysaccharides are among the major components that can be extracted from marine algae. These seaweed polysaccharides (SWPSs) are uniquely different from plant-based polysaccharides like cellulose and starch. They are highly diverse in both their molecular structure and range of applications, spanning from compounds with high pharmaceutical activities and nutritional value to the preparation of innovative biomaterials and bioplastics.

This Special Issue is dedicated to innovations in the area of SWPSs, with a special focus on the following aspects: (i) new methods for the extraction of SWPSs from algae biomass, (ii) advanced fractionation and characterization of SWPSs as well as structure–property–relationship studies, (iii) chemical modification of SWPSs into functional derivatives, (iv) conversion of SWPS biomass into low-molecular-weight building block chemicals, (v) fabrication of SWPS-based biomaterials, and (vi) application studies focused on SWPSs and SWPS-based derivatives and materials. Researchers are invited to submit original work and review articles that illustrate recent advances in SWPS research.

Dr. Martin Gericke
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • seaweeds
  • algae
  • characterization
  • extraction
  • polysaccharide derivatives
  • bioactive compounds
  • bioplastics
  • biomaterials

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 2740 KiB  
Article
Antihypertensive Amaranth Protein Hydrolysates Encapsulation in Alginate/Pectin Beads: Influence on Bioactive Properties upon In Vitro Digestion
by Dora Elisa Cruz-Casas, Rodolfo Ramos-González, Lilia Arely Prado-Barragán, Cristóbal N. Aguilar, Raúl Rodríguez-Herrera, Anna Iliná, Sandra Cecilia Esparza-González and Adriana Carolina Flores-Gallegos
Polysaccharides 2024, 5(3), 450-462; https://doi.org/10.3390/polysaccharides5030028 - 5 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1034
Abstract
Protein hydrolysates containing bioactive peptides have emerged as therapeutic agents. However, these peptides may lose this bioactivity under gastrointestinal conditions. Encapsulation in edible biopolymers is a solution to this problem. Protein hydrolysates with ACE-I inhibitory activity, obtained previously, were encapsulated. A 1% solution [...] Read more.
Protein hydrolysates containing bioactive peptides have emerged as therapeutic agents. However, these peptides may lose this bioactivity under gastrointestinal conditions. Encapsulation in edible biopolymers is a solution to this problem. Protein hydrolysates with ACE-I inhibitory activity, obtained previously, were encapsulated. A 1% solution of the biopolymers alginate (AG) and pectin (PC) in various ratios was prepared. The beads formed were evaluated in both wet and dry states for size, roundness, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), encapsulation efficiency, and ACE-I inhibitory activity. Selected samples underwent in vitro digestion, after which peptide release and ACE-I inhibitory activity were determined. Size analysis revealed that increasing the PC content increased the bead size, with 100% PC beads showing total deformation and reduced roundness. TGA indicated that wet beads had lower thermal stability compared to dry beads. The highest encapsulation efficiency (95.57% ± 0.49) was observed with 100% AG beads. The 75% AG 25% PC beads exhibited the highest ACE-I inhibitory activity (97.97% ± 1.01). Encapsulated protein hydrolysates retained their ACE-I inhibitory activity after simulated digestion, whereas non-encapsulated hydrolysates lost their bioactivity. Encapsulation of amaranth protein hydrolysates with AG and PC thus preserves antihypertensive activity even after in vitro digestion. Full article
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