Journal
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
Volume 132, Issue -, Pages 378-396Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.05.079
Keywords
Immunomodulation; Triple helix; Branching; Acetylation; Sulfation; Glucans
Categories
Funding
- Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal)
- European Union
- QREN
- FCT [SFRH/BDP/65718/2009]
- FEDER
- COMPETE [PEst-C/QUI/UI0062/2013, FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-037296]
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Immunostimulatory polysaccharides are compounds capable of interacting with the immune system and enhance specific mechanisms of the host response. Glucans, mannans, pectic polysaccharides, ara-binogalactans, fucoidans, galactans, hyaluronans, fructans, and xylans are polysaccharides with reported immunostimulatory activity. The structural features that have been related with such activity are the monosaccharide and glycosidic-linkage composition, conformation, molecular weight, functional groups, and branching characteristics. However, the establishment of structure-function relationships is possible only if purified and characterized polysaccharides are used and selective structural modifications performed. Aiming at contributing to the definition of the structure-function relationships necessary to design immunostimulatory polysaccharides with potential for preventive or therapeutical purposes or to be recognized as health-improving ingredients in functional foods, this review introduces basic immunological concepts required to understand the mechanisms that rule the potential claimed immuno stimulatory activity of polysaccharides and critically presents a literature survey on the structural features of the polysaccharides and reported immunostimulatory activity. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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