Bacterial polysaccharides—A big source for prebiotics and therapeutics

Abstract

Bacterial polysaccharides are unique due to their higher purity, hydrophilic nature, and a finer three-dimensional fibrous structure. Primarily, these polymers provide protection, support, and energy to the microorganism, however, more recently several auxiliary properties of these biopolymers have been unmasked. Microbial polysaccharides have shown therapeutic abilities against various illnesses, augmented the healing abilities of the herbal and Western medicines, improved overall health of the host, and have exerted positive impact on the growth of gut dwelling beneficial bacteria. Specifically, the review is discussing the mechanism through which bacterial polysaccharides exert anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial properties. In addition, they are holding promising application in the 3D printing. The review is also discussing a perspective about the metagenome-based screening of polysaccharides, their integration with other cutting-edge tools, and synthetic microbiome base intervention of polysaccharides as a strategy for prebiotic intervention. This review has collected interesting information about the bacterial polysaccharides from Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Up to our knowledge, this is the first of its kind review article that is summarizing therapeutic, prebiotics, and commercial application of bacterial polysaccharides.

The role of the glycome in symbiotic host-microbe interactions

“…Experimental verifications with some of these bacteria confirmed that PSA-synthesising bacteria significantly increase the production of Tregs and IL-10 and also attenuate experimental colitis in mice. Other bacterial polysaccharides also display an encouraging therapeutic potential ( Khan et al 2022 ).…”

Ultrasound-assisted extraction and antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from Tenebrio molitor

“…Liang Jiang et al [15] and Dandan Zhang et al [16] suggested that polysaccharides can be used as prebiotics in functional foods to regulate the intestinal flora and health of the organism. Bioactive polysaccharides can be obtained by microbial fermentation [17], physicochemical extraction [18,19], enzymatic synthesis [20] and chemical synthesis [21]. The different extraction methods used are closely related to the biological activities of polysaccharides [22].…”

Exopolysaccharides Producing Bacteria: A Review

“…Therefore, they have extensive commercial applications in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, chemical, textile, oil, and gas industries as thickeners, emulsifiers and suspension stabilizers, flocculants, and additives improving the quality of various products [ 37 ]. In addition, some bacterial EPSs also possess antitumor [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], antioxidant [ 41 , 42 ], anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, cholesterol-lowering, prebiotic [ 43 ], wound healing, and immunomodulatory activities [ 44 ] . The biocompatibility and functional properties of EPSs are important factors that promote their use in various biomedical applications [ 45 ], such as tissue engineering [ 46 , 47 ], wound dressing [ 48 , 49 ], and drug delivery systems [ 50 , 51 ].…”