NATPRO Journal

Accepted manuscripts

Structure and Bioactivity of Acidic Polysaccharides from Natural Resources

NATPRO J (2025) 2: 13-24

https://doi.org/10.23177/NJ025.601 

Author: Toshihiko Toida*

Abstract: Interest in naturally occurring polysaccharides has steadily increased over the past two decades. These compounds have found applications in a variety of fields, including nutraceuticals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biomedicine. As studies of the structure-activity relationships (SAR) of glycans have progressed, the biological significance and functions of natural polysaccharides have become clearer. This progress has been fueled by significant advancements in enabling technologies, including various isolation and purification methods, chemical reactions that elucidate structures, and analytical tools such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS).　Recent technological advances have revealed that some polysaccharides have irregular functional group patterns or branched sugar units within regular structures. This review will focus on the SAR of some acidic polysaccharides in the context of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, and new concepts regarding the biological functions of polysaccharides as matrikines, with a particular focus on chondroitin sulfate.

 Received June 11, 2025; accepted July 22, 2025; E-mail: toida@faculty.chiba-u.jp

Copyright © The Asian Society of Natural Products