Li Fei, Zhao Jing, Wei Yunlu, Jiao Xu, Li Quanhong
College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; National Engineering Research Center for Fruits and Vegetables Processing, Beijing 100083, China.
College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; National Engineering Research Center for Fruits and Vegetables Processing, Beijing 100083, China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Dec 15;193(Pt A):541-552. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.10.037. Epub 2021 Oct 14.
Pumpkin polysaccharides have arrested researchers' attention in fields of food supplements for healthy product and traditional Chinese medicine due to their multiple bioactivities with non-toxic and highly biocompatible. This review emphatically summarized recent progresses in the primary and spatial structural features, various bioactivities, structure-to-function associations, different preparation techniques, and absorption characteristics across intestinal epithelial and in vivo bio-distribution of pumpkin polysaccharides. Additionally, current challenges and future trends in development of pumpkin polysaccharides were pointed out. We found that pumpkin polysaccharides were primary structure (e.g. glucan, galactoglucan, galactomannan, galactan, homogalacturonan (HG), and rhamnogalacturonan-Ι (RG-Ι)) and special structure diverse (e.g. hollow helix, linear, and sphere-like) and significant functional foods or therapeutic agents (e.g. oral hypoglycemic agents). Moreover, we found that the molecular weight (Mw), uronic acid, linkage types, and modifications all could affect their bioactivities (e.g. anti-oxidant, anti-coagulant, and anti-diabetic activities), and pumpkin polysaccharides may across intestinal epithelial into the blood reaching to target organs. Collectively, the structures diversity and pharmacological values of pumpkin polysaccharides support their therapeutic potentials and sanitarian functions.
南瓜多糖因其具有多种生物活性、无毒且生物相容性高，在健康食品补充剂和传统中药领域引起了研究人员的关注。本综述着重总结了南瓜多糖在一级结构和空间结构特征、各种生物活性、结构与功能的关系、不同的制备技术以及跨肠上皮的吸收特性和体内生物分布方面的最新进展。此外，还指出了南瓜多糖开发目前面临的挑战和未来趋势。我们发现南瓜多糖具有一级结构（如葡聚糖、半乳葡聚糖、半乳甘露聚糖、半乳聚糖、同型半乳糖醛酸聚糖（HG）和鼠李半乳糖醛酸聚糖-Ι（RG-Ι））且特殊结构多样（如空心螺旋、线性和球状），是重要的功能性食品或治疗剂（如口服降糖剂）。此外，我们发现分子量（Mw）、糖醛酸、连接类型和修饰都可能影响其生物活性（如抗氧化、抗凝血和抗糖尿病活性），并且南瓜多糖可能穿过肠上皮进入血液到达靶器官。总的来说，南瓜多糖的结构多样性和药理价值支持了它们的治疗潜力和保健功能。
