Physicochemical Properties and Synergistic Prebiotic Activities of Polysaccharides from Longan Fruits, Goji Berries, and Jujube Fruits
Article
Figures
Metrics
Preview PDF
Reference
Related
Cited by
Materials
Abstract:
The physical and chemical properties and prebiotic activities of polysaccharides from longan fruits, goji berries, and jujube fruits, hereafter referred to as longan polysaccharide (LP), goji berry polysaccharide (GP) and jujube polysaccharide (JP), respectively, were studiedand the existence of their synergistic effects was explored. For this, several features of the polysaccharides, such as the basic composition, molecular weight distribution, monosaccharide composition, microstructure, solubility, particle size and solution potential, were measured, and the effects of the polysaccharides, alone or in combination, on the proliferation of the probiotics were analyzed. The results show that the three polysaccharides mainly contain neutral sugars and a small amount of proteins and uronic acids. More specifically, the neutral sugar contents of LP, GP, and JP are 86.25%, 72.36%, and 82.98%, respectively. The Mw values of LP and JP are 70.73 ku and 185.93 ku, respectively, while the Mw of GP is 120.61 ku and 4.53 ku. Furthermore, LP and GP mainly consist of arabinose, glucose, and galactose in molar ratios of 22.49:56.81:10.18 and 16.84:62.05:11.08, respectively, while JP is mainly composed of arabinose, glucose, and galacturonic acid in a molarratio of 10.63:70.05:10.88. The microstructures of the three polysaccharides are significantly different. LPs were observed as fragmented aggregates, while GPs and JPs showed lamellar and mesh structures, respectively. The particle size, particle size dispersion index, and Zeta potential of the three polysaccharides are different. All the three polysaccharides promoted the proliferation of probiotics significantly and their effectiveness was dose dependent. In particular, at a concentration of 30 mg/mL, the probiotic activities of the three polysaccharides followed the order of JP>GP>LP. The highest probiotic activity was observed when the three polysaccharides, LP, GP, and JP, were used in a mass ratio of 2:3:1, respectively, and this joint effect was far greater than that observed when the three polysaccharides were used alone at the same concentration. The results showed that the mixture of LP, GP, and JP has a synergistic effect on the proliferation of probiotics. Key words:
