Advances in Natural Polysaccharides and Oligosaccharides: Purification Techniques, Analysis Methods, and Physiochemical Properties

Polysaccharides can be found in almost all living organisms, including in tissues of seeds, stems, and leaves of herbal plants, body fluids of animals, cell walls and extracellular fluids of bacteria, yeast and fungi from plant, animals, and microorganisms. They are also one of the most versatile materials available and therefore can play a critical role in the development of new food products and nutraceuticals.
In recent years, with the increasing attention paid to the study of natural polysaccharides, its exploitation grew steadily in the food industry. Therefore, the purpose of this Research Topic is to cover a broad spectrum of original research and reviews about the natural polysaccharides and oligosaccharides.
We welcome original research articles as well as review articles about the advances of study and exploitation of natural polysaccharides/oligosaccharides, which have current or potential application in areas such as functional foods and nutraceuticals
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Novel chemical, enzymatic and physical extraction techniques for natural polysaccharides/oligosaccharides preparation
- Physicochemical characterization and biological effects of polysaccharides/oligosaccharides
- Structural analysis and modification of polysaccharides/oligosaccharides
- Recent developments in the analytical methodologies of polysaccharides/oligosaccharides
- Application of natural polysaccharides/oligosaccharides to foods and nutraceuticals