Bioactive Carbohydrate Polymers—Between Myth and Reality
Maroua Drira,
Faiez Hentati,
Olga Babich,
Stanislas Sukhikh,
Viktoria Larina,
Sana Sharifian,
Ahmad Homaei,
Imen Fendri,
Marco F. L. Lemos,
Carina Félix,
Rafael Félix,
Slim Abdelkafi,
Philippe Michaud
Affiliations
Maroua Drira
Laboratoire de Biotechnologies des Plantes Appliquées à l’Amélioration des Cultures, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, Sfax 3038, Tunisia
Faiez Hentati
INRAE, URAFPA, Université de Lorraine, F-54000 Nancy, France
Olga Babich
Institute of Living Systems, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, A. Nevskogo Street 14, 236016 Kaliningrad, Russia
Stanislas Sukhikh
Institute of Living Systems, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, A. Nevskogo Street 14, 236016 Kaliningrad, Russia
Viktoria Larina
Institute of Living Systems, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, A. Nevskogo Street 14, 236016 Kaliningrad, Russia
Sana Sharifian
Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas 74576, Iran
Ahmad Homaei
Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas 74576, Iran
Imen Fendri
Laboratoire de Biotechnologies des Plantes Appliquées à l’Amélioration des Cultures, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, Sfax 3038, Tunisia
Marco F. L. Lemos
MARE–Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal
Carina Félix
MARE–Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal
Rafael Félix
MARE–Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal
Slim Abdelkafi
Laboratoire de Génie Enzymatique et Microbiologie, Equipe de Biotechnologie des Algues, Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Sfax, Université de Sfax, Sfax 3038, Tunisia
Polysaccharides are complex macromolecules long regarded as energetic storage resources or as components of plant and fungal cell walls. They have also been described as plant mucilages or microbial exopolysaccharides. The development of glycosciences has led to a partial and difficult deciphering of their other biological functions in living organisms. The objectives of glycobiochemistry and glycobiology are currently to correlate some structural features of polysaccharides with some biological responses in the producing organisms or in another one. In this context, the literature focusing on bioactive polysaccharides has increased exponentially during the last two decades, being sometimes very optimistic for some new applications of bioactive polysaccharides, notably in the medical field. Therefore, this review aims to examine bioactive polysaccharide, taking a critical look of the different biological activities reported by authors and the reality of the market. It focuses also on the chemical, biochemical, enzymatic, and physical modifications of these biopolymers to optimize their potential as bioactive agents.
