Natural antimicrobial oligosaccharides in the food industry

Xuewu Liu; Xingfei Li; Yuxiang Bai; Xing Zhou; Long Chen; Chao Qiu; Cheng Lu; Zhengyu Jin; Jie Long; Zhengjun Xie

doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2022.110021

Natural antimicrobial oligosaccharides in the food industry

Int J Food Microbiol. 2023 Feb 2:386:110021. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2022.110021. Epub 2022 Nov 18.

Authors

Xuewu Liu¹, Xingfei Li¹, Yuxiang Bai², Xing Zhou², Long Chen², Chao Qiu², Cheng Lu³, Zhengyu Jin¹, Jie Long⁴, Zhengjun Xie⁵

Affiliations

¹ The State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
² The State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China.
³ The State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Bioengineering, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China.
⁴ The State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China. Electronic address: jielong@jiangnan.edu.cn.
⁵ The State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China. Electronic address: xiezj@jiangnan.edu.cn.

PMID: 36462348
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2022.110021

Abstract

An increase in the number of antibiotic resistance genes burdens the environment and affects human health. Additionally, people have developed a cautious attitude toward chemical preservatives. This attitude has promoted the search for new natural antimicrobial substances. Oligosaccharides from various sources have been studied for their antimicrobial and prebiotic effects. Antimicrobial oligosaccharides have several advantages such as being produced from renewable resources and showing antimicrobial properties similar to those of chemical preservatives. Their excellent broad-spectrum antibacterial properties are primarily because of various synergistic effects, including destruction of pathogen cell wall. Additionally, the adhesion of harmful microorganisms and the role of harmful factors may be reduced by oligosaccharides. Some natural oligosaccharides were also shown to stimulate the growth probiotic organisms. Therefore, antimicrobial oligosaccharides have the potential to meet food processing industry requirements in the future. The latest progress in research on the antimicrobial activity of different oligosaccharides is demonstrated in this review. The possible mechanism of action of these antimicrobial oligosaccharides is summarized with respect to their direct and indirect effects. Finally, the extended applications of oligosaccharides from the food source industry to food processing are discussed.

Keywords: Antimicrobial mechanism; Food applications; Natural antimicrobial substances; Oligosaccharides.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Anti-Infective Agents* / metabolism
Anti-Infective Agents* / pharmacology
Food Industry
Food-Processing Industry*
Humans
Oligosaccharides / metabolism

Substances

Anti-Infective Agents
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Oligosaccharides