Exopolysaccharides Produced by Lactic Acid Bacteria and Their Therapeutic Effects

Abstract

Exopolysaccharides are polymers formed by the combination of repeated sugar units with glycosidic bonds and can be produced by a wide variety of microorganisms, plants and animals. One of the most important producers is lactic acid bacteria (LAB). These polymers can be covalently bound to the cell in which they are synthesized, or they can be secreted into the environment and be weakly bound to the cell by electrostatic force. They may protect the cell that they are in against factors such as low water activity, osmotic stress, bacteriophages and toxic compounds. Including their synthesis mechanism, a wide variety of differences in the properties of exopolysaccharides such as the type and number of sugar units they contain, molecular weight, the preŞence of side chains and charge have been reported, and these differences lead to the formation of exopolysaccharides with various functional properties and unique structures. Exopolysaccharides produced by LAB have found a very common uses in food systems because they influence the textural structure and organoleptic quality, especially with their non-toxicity and biodegradable feature. In addition to the technological properties of exopolysaccharides, many biological functions such as antioxidant, antitumor, prebiotic, wound-healing, antidiabetic and cholesterol level reGülation have been revealed in the light of various studies. In this review, the structure of exopolysaccharides and some of their beneficial effects on human health are preŞented by means of the relevant studies in the literature. © 2022 Sidas Medya A.S.. All Rights Reserved.