Characterization and Biotechnological Potential of Extracellular Polysaccharides Synthesized by Alteromonas Strains Isolated from French Polynesia Marine Environments

Marine environments comprise almost three quarters of Earth’s surface, representing the largest ecosystem of our planet. The vast ecological and metabolic diversity found in marine microorganisms suggest that these marine resources have a huge potential as sources of novel commercially appealing biomolecules, such as exopolysaccharides (EPS). Six Alteromonas strains from different marine environments in French Polynesia atolls were selected for EPS extraction. All the EPS were heteropolysaccharides composed of different monomers, including neutral monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, and mannose, rhamnose and fucose), and uronic acids (glucuronic acid and galacturonic acid), which accounted for up to 45.5 mol% of the EPS compositions. Non-carbohydrate substituents, such as acetyl (0.5–2.1 wt%), pyruvyl (0.2–4.9 wt%), succinyl (1–1.8 wt%), and sulfate (1.98–3.43 wt%); and few peptides (1.72–6.77 wt%) were also detected. Thermal analysis demonstrated that the EPS had a degradation temperature above 260 °C, and high char yields (32–53%). Studies on EPS functional properties revealed that they produce viscous aqueous solutions with a shear thinning behavior and could form strong gels in two distinct ways: by the addition of Fe²⁺, or in the presence of Mg²⁺, Cu²⁺, or Ca²⁺ under alkaline conditions. Thus, these EPS could be versatile materials for different applications.     

灌木与乔木晒青茶生化成分与抗氧化活性研究比较

在灌木茶树留养改造形成乔木茶树的过程中,出现了改造中的灌木茶树、乔木茶树以及改造后的乔木茶树3种类型的茶树。本文对不同季节的上述3类茶树加工的晒青茶叶的生化成分与抗氧化活性进行比较研究。应用分光光度法、高效液相色谱法测定晒青茶的各内含成分含量,发现除苏氨酸、精氨酸和γ-氨基丁酸外,乔木晒青茶的茶氨酸、谷氨酸等15种氨基酸含量与游离氨基酸总量均高于灌木晒青茶（P<0.05）,而乔木晒青茶的茶多酚、没食子酸、1,4,6-O-没食子酰基-β-D-葡萄糖、表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯（EGCG）的含量显著低于灌木晒青茶（P<0.05）,感官审评表明灌木晒青茶滋味较乔木晒青茶苦涩;正交偏最小二乘法（OPLS-DA）分析表明,两类茶聚成不同簇,进一步证实了茶叶生化成分存在差异。春季样品中,除羟自由基清除能力无显著差异外,乔木晒青茶的总抗氧化能力、DPPH自由基和超氧阴离子清除能力均显著高于灌木晒青茶（P<0.05）;秋季样品中,乔木晒青茶的总抗氧化能力显著高于灌木晒青茶（P<0.05）,但乔木晒青茶的超氧阴离子清除率则显著低于灌木晒青茶（P<0.05）,而DPPH和羟自由基清除活性二者差异不显著（P>0.05）。综上,与灌木晒青茶比较,改造形成的乔木晒青茶的氨基酸含量提高,多酚含量降低,苦涩度降低,部分抗氧化活性指标提高,表明灌木茶树留养改造成乔木茶树,能够提高晒青茶品质。     

Preparation and Characterization of Nano-Selenium Decorated by Chondroitin Sulfate Derived from Shark Cartilage and Investigation on Its Antioxidant Activity

In the present study, a selenium-chondroitin sulfate (SeCS) was synthesized by the sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃) and ascorbic acid (Vc) redox reaction using chondroitin sulfate derived from shark cartilage as a template, and characterized by SEM, SEM-EDS, FTIR and XRD. Meanwhile, its stability was investigated at different conditions of pH and temperatures. Besides, its antioxidant activity was further determined by the DPPH and ABTS assays. The results showed the SeCS with the smallest particle size of 131.3 ± 4.4 nm and selenium content of 33.18% was obtained under the optimal condition (CS concentration of 0.1 mg/mL, mass ratio of Na₂SeO₃ to Vc of 1:8, the reaction time of 3 h, and the reaction temperature of 25 °C). SEM image showed the SeCS was an individual and spherical nanostructure and its structure was evidenced by FTIR and XRD. Meanwhile, SeCS remained stable at an alkaline pH and possessed good storage stability at 4 °C for 28 days. The results on scavenging free radical levels showed that SeCS exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity than SeNPs and CS, indicating that SeCS had a potential antioxidant effect.