Laboratory of Chemistry of Foods and Bioactives, Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Laboratory of Molecular Nutrition, Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Food Funct. 2018 Mar 1;9(3):1344-1352. doi: 10.1039/c7fo01721a. Epub 2018 Feb 22.
Carrageenan (CGN), a family of marine polysaccharides isolated from seaweeds, has been at the heart of considerable debate in recent years. To date, CGN is generally recognized as safe based on a history of safe use, various acute toxicology studies and some recent chronic toxicology tests. This review offers readers an overview of evidence on CGN characteristics and digestive fate that highlight various gaps in our understanding. Specifically, three unresolved gaps are identified. Firstly, little information can be found on the current levels of public exposure to CGN. Secondly, the link between CGN physicochemical properties, its impact on digestive proteolysis, the colon microbiome and inflammation are yet to be fully resolved. Thirdly, scant scientific evidence exists on the differential digestive fate of CGN in the gut of liable and predisposed populations, such as elderly people or IBD patients. Altogether, revisiting the scientific evidence indicates that more research is needed to elucidate the possibility that continued exposure to increasing levels of CGN in the human diet may compromise human health and well-being.
卡拉胶（CGN）是一种从海藻中分离出的海洋多糖家族，近年来一直是争议的焦点。迄今为止，根据其安全使用历史、各种急性毒理学研究和一些最近的慢性毒理学测试，CGN 被普遍认为是安全的。本综述为读者提供了关于 CGN 特性和消化命运的证据概述，突出了我们理解中的各种差距。具体来说，确定了三个未解决的差距。首先，关于公众接触 CGN 的当前水平的信息很少。其次，CGN 的物理化学性质与其对消化蛋白水解、结肠微生物组和炎症的影响之间的联系尚未得到充分解决。第三，关于易感性和易患人群（如老年人或 IBD 患者）肠道中 CGN 消化命运的差异的科学证据很少。总的来说，重新审视科学证据表明，需要更多的研究来阐明在人类饮食中持续接触不断增加水平的 CGN 可能会损害人类健康和福祉的可能性。
