Effect of ultrasonic degradation on the structural feature, physicochemical property and bioactivity of plant and microbial polysaccharides: A review

With the bioactivities of antioxidant, anti-bacteria, anti-inflammation, immune regulation, antitumor and anti-coagulation, plant and microbial polysaccharides have been widely used in foods, medicine and cosmetics. However, how structure features affect the physicochemical property and bioactivity of plant and microbial polysaccharides is still unclear. Ultrasonic degradation usually degrades or modifies plant and microbial poly-saccharides with different physicochemical properties and bioactivities by affecting their chemical or spatial structures via mechanical bond breaking and cavitation effects. Therefore, ultrasonic degradation might be an effective strategy for producing bioactive plant and microbial polysaccharides and analyzing their structure -function relationship. Present review summarized the influence of ultrasonic degradation on structural feature, physicochemical property and bioactivity of plant and microbial polysaccharides. Moreover, further problems need to be paid attention to during the application of ultrasonication for plant and microbial poly-saccharides degradation are also recommended. Overall, present review will provide an efficient method for producing enhanced bioactive plant and microbial polysaccharides and analyzing their structure-activity rela-tionship based on ultrasonic degradation.

Automated summary

With their bioactivities including antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, immune regulation, antitumor and anti-coagulation properties, plant and microbial polysaccharides are widely used in the fields of food, medicine and cosmetics. However, the relationship between structure features and physicochemical properties as well as bioactivities of these polysaccharides remains unclear. Ultrasonic degradation, through mechanical bond breaking and cavitation effects, has the potential to modify the chemical or spatial structures of plant and microbial polysaccharides, thus affecting their physicochemical properties and bioactivities. This review provides an overview of the influence of ultrasonic degradation on the structure features, physicochemical properties and bioactivities of plant and microbial polysaccharides, and highlights the need for attention in the application of ultrasonication for polysaccharide degradation.