No abstract

The sulfated exopolysaccharide p-KG03, which is produced by the marine microalga Gyrodinium impudicum strain KG03, exhibited impressive antiviral activity in vitro (EC50 = 26.9 micro g/ml) against the encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV). Depending on the p-KG03 concentration, the development of cytopathic effects in EMCV-infected HeLa cells was either inhibited completely or slowed. Moreover, p-KG03 did not show any cytotoxic effects on HeLa cells, even at concentrations up to 1000 microg/ml. The polysaccharide was purified by repeated precipitation in ethanol, followed by gel filtration. The p-KG03 polysaccharide had a molecular weight of 1.87 x 10(7), and was characterized as a homopolysaccharide of galactose with uronic acid (2.96% wt/wt) and sulfate groups (10.32% wt/wt). The biological activities of p-KG03 suggest that sulfated metabolites from marine organisms are a rich source of antiviral agents. This is the first reported marine source of antiviral sulfated polysaccharides against EMCV. The p-KG03 polysaccharide may be useful in the development of marine bioactive exopolysaccharide for biotechnological and pharmaceutical products.

To find a novel exopolysaccharide, marine bacterial strains were isolated from coastal regions of Korea. Strain 00SS11568 was then selected as it produced a mucous exopolysaccharide during the stationary phase in a batch culture. The isolate was identified as Alteromonas sp. based on its 16S rDNA sequence, morphological, and biochemical properties. The exopolysaccharide, designated as p-11568, exhibited an emulsifying ability. The Emulsification Index (E24) of 0.1% p- 11568 was 77.4% with an emulsified kerosene content, and was higher than those of commercial polysaccharides, such as xanthan gum (26.1%), gellan gum (1.3%), and sodium alginate (2.0%). p- 11568 was found to be composed of glucose and galactose as the main natural sugars in a molar ratio of 1.3:1, along with uronic acid (18.9%, w/w) and sulfate groups (1.2% w/w). The average molecular mass was 4.4 x 105 daltons by gel filtration chromatography. The effects of pH, temperature, inorganic compounds, and C and N sources were tested to obtain the optimal medium composition for the production of p-11568. Under optimal growth conditions with the M-11568 medium, 14.9 g of crude p-11568 per liter was obtained.

No abstract