23 / 2021-10-09 08:46:41

Research progress of glycosaminoglycans from marine organism

Glycosaminoglycan; Source Distribution; Structural Characteristics; Biological Activity

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), also known as acid mucopolysaccharides, are a kind of linear polysaccharides formed by polymerization of repeating units of hexuronic acid and hexosamine disaccharide, and widely present in a variety of animal tissues. According to the structure, GAG is mainly divided into Heparin (HP), Heparan Sulphate (HS), Hyaluronic Acid (HA), Chondroitin Sulfate (CS), Dermatan Sulfate (DS), Keratan Sulphate (KS), and so on. GAGs have been reported to have a wide variety of biological activities, such as anticoagulation, antivirus, anticancer, immunomodulation and neuroprotection et al., which are closely related to the disaccharide units in its fine structure, the degree of sulfate substitution and the substitution position, and molecular weight.

Compared with terrestrial ecosystems, marine ecosystems have great biodiversity. They provide abundant resources for the discovery of new GAGs, with considerable structural diversity and novel biological activities. For example, chondroitin sulfate (CS), especially chondroitin sulfate E (CSE), is mainly obtained from marine organisms and has potential antiviral activity. A unique fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (FCS) isolated from sea cucumbers, has been reported to have anticoagulant, antiviral, antitumor and other biological activities, which structural type has not been found in mammals. Many GAGs-like glycans, which are also isolated from by-products of the food industry such as shrimp head and squid skin, have anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant activities, and have low hemorrhagic toxicity and side effects. In addition, compared to mammalian-derived GAGs, marine-derived GAGs are not contaminated by mammalian pathogens or prions. A large amount of treated marine biological waste provides a valuable emerging resource for large-scale separation and preparation of GAGs, which has great potential in future therapeutic applications. Therefore, Researches on the source distribution, structural characteristics, biological activity and potential application value of marine biological GAGs could lay a foundation for the deep processing and high-value utilization of marine organisms, and provide scientific and material basis for the development of innovative marine carbohydrate-based drugs and new functional foods.