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Ganoderma lucidum is one of the best-known medicinal mushrooms in the world. It contains substantial amounts of intra- and extracellular secondary metabolites and polysaccharides each with its own specific medicinal and medical uses. The chitin-glucan complex (CGC) is considered one of the important polysaccharides of this fungus. Among the 10 various culture media that were studied, the one containing PDB at 24g/l, peptone at 1g/l, and with the dry weight of cells of 11.6 g/l, the produced CGC of 3.2g/l, and with 27.6 percent CGC in the dry weight of the cells was selected as the suitable culture medium. FTIR analysis was performed for characterization of the produced CGC and its antibacterial properties were studied. The obtained time profile for CGC growth and production was 20 days and, using the logistic growth model and the Lodding-Pipet equation, the calculated specific growth rate of Ganoderma lucidum (μm) and the volumetric productivity for the product were 2.85 g CGC L-1day-and 0.5274 day-1, respectively. The calculations indicated there were high degrees of conformance between the model and the laboratory data related to kinetic characteristics of cell growth (R2= 0.9679) and to CGC production (R2=0.9901). Therefore, the introduced kinetic model can serve as an effective guide to control the fermentation process in industrial production of the valuable CGC polymer.

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The molecular characteristics of Yersinia ruckeri such as total proteins (TP), outer membrane proteins OMP) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in 34 isolates from rainbow trout farms in Tehran, Mazandaran and Zanjan provinces were determined, using SDS-PAGE method. The molecular weight (MW) for TP of all bacterial isolates was mostly less than 100 KD with a banding density in range 28 to 100 KD. Also, protein pattern of OMP consisted of three major bands with MW of 28-35 KD (two bands) and 10-17 KD (one band) plus some minor bands with MW of 48-75 KD and 17-28 KD. In addition, the LPS pattern of all bacterial isolates were less than 130 KD with the most band density in range 28-100 KD. These results show that the banding profile of TP, OMP and LPS of all isolates of Y. ruckeri were identical, demonstrating minimum heterogeneity among Iranian isolates of Y. ruckeri. Therefore, it is feasible for the formulation of a monovalent vaccine to yersiniosis in future.

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Effect of different temperature (30 to 90 °C), time (10 to 70 min) and pH (4 to 9) conditions were investigated on the extraction efficiency of polysaccharides from seaweed E. intestinalis. Results showed that the extraction temperature had the highest effect on the enhancement of polysaccharide content. The highest polysaccharide extraction yield was achieved at 90 °C, 30 min and pH 8. Therefore, antioxidant effects of polysaccharides obtained at temperatures 30, 70 and 90 °C, times 10, 30 and 50 min, and pH 4, 7 and 8 with significant yield differences were evaluated. DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing power and total antioxidant activity were employed in order to evaluate the antioxidant properties of polysaccharides. The maximum DPPH radical scavenging activity was obtained for polysaccharides of 30 °C (73.90%), 30 min (95.08%) and pH 7 (75.61%). The highest reducing power was achieved for polysaccharides of 70 °C (97.49%), 50 min (99.05%) and pH 8 (97.49%). The maximum total antioxidant activity was obtained for polysaccharides of 70 °C (49.97), 10 min (62.32) and pH 7 (59.11 mg ascorbic acid/ g dried seaweed powder?). Overall, findings of current study suggest that the polysaccharides from green seaweed E. intestinalis possess antioxidant capacity and that the use of high temperature, long time and acidic or basic pH in extraction process results in diminishing this antioxidant capacity.     

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In the present study, the structural and antioxidant properties of fucoidan extracted from macroalgae (Sargassum and Padina) from the Persian Gulf coast were evaluated. The fucoidan was extracted by ethanol and hot water and after calculating the extraction yield, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and its monosaccharides by HPLC method were examined. The yield of fucoidan in Sargassum (4.2 ± 0.00%) was higher than Padina (2.98 ± 0.28%) (P < 0.05). The IC50 of DPPH free radical scavenging in fucoidan extracted from Sargassum and Padina were 0.1 and 0.14 mg/ ml, respectively, which were higher than BHT as a commercial antioxidant (P < 0.05). The rate of FRAP in both samples increased with an increase in the concentration of fucoidan. The SEM results showed that fucoidan from both macroalgae had strong structural cohesion and irregular surfaces, but Padina had more surface protrusions. The glucose, mannose and xylose sugars in different amounts were detected by the HPLC method, in which the amount of glucose and xylose sugars were higher in the fucoidan derived-Sargassum (P < 0.05). According to the results of the present study, the fucoidan extracted from the Sargassum and Padina can be a good alternative to an industrial antioxidant in food

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Polysaccharides are one of biomacromolecules that, in addition to their peculiar physicochemical properties, possess promising biological capabilities depending on chemical structure. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of molecular weight of galactofucan polysaccharides from freshwater plant Azolla filiculoides on its ability to stimulate RAW264.7 macrophage cells and inhibition of oxidation reactions. Galactofucan polysaccharide was extracted by distilled water at 65°C for 2 hours and recovered using 70% ethanol. Polysaccharide hydrolysis was performed using 0.01N HCl at 100°C for 5, 10 and 15 minutes. Crude and hydrolyzed polysaccharides were mainly composed of neutral sugars (67.46-68.02%), lower amounts of uronic acids (4.48-4.53%) and ranged in the molecular weight of 99.4-783.0 × 10³ g/ mol. Crude and hydrolyzed polysaccharides were non-toxic and hydrolysis 15 resulted in the greatest stimulation of proinflammatory response in RAW264.7 macrophage cells releasing a considerable amount of nitric oxide (55.6 μmol) into culture medium. Hydrolysis 15 led to the highest DPPH radical scavenging (65.2%) and Fe³⁺ reducing power (0.5 Abs). Overall, the present findings indicated that galactofucan polysaccharides have the ability to boost immune system and inhibit oxidation reactions and that molecular weight reduction to specific levels could improve the biological activities. 

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Polysaccharides possess diverse biological properties, mostly owed to their structural complexity and molecular heterogeneity, that could be improved through engineering methods and application of structural modifications. The objective of the present study was the assessment of antioxidant properties of hydrolyzed fucoidan from seaweed Nizamuddinia zanardinii and the correlation of molecular weight with biological function. After the removal of pigments and low molecular weight compounds, crude extracted polysaccharide was hydrolyzed at 100 C for 10, 20, 40 and 60 minutes using 0.01N HCl. The average molecular weight of crude fucoidan 1254.4 × 10³ g/mol and for hydrolysates FH10, FH20, FH40 and FH60 was 974.5, 891.8, 806.5 and 705.5 × 10³ g/mol, respectively. With the decrease of molecular weight, hydrolysates, compared with the crude fucoidan, exerted considerable DPPH (61.27-84.54%) and ABTS (40.1-88.5%) radical scavenging and Fe³⁺ reducing power (0.49-0.81 Abs) activities. Among different samples, hydrolysate FH20 showed the greatest capacity for DPPH radical scavenging activity (70.45-84.54%) and Fe³⁺ reducing power (0.49-0.81 Abs). Overall, the results of the current study showed that hydrolysis and reduction of molecular weight significantly improved the antioxidant activities of the fucoidan while time did not result any significant differences in antioxidant properties of hydrolysates which could be due to alterations in functional groups. Hence, fucoidan isolated from the examined species could be utilized as antioxidant agents in forms of native or hydrolysates.
 

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This experiment evaluated the effect of soluble polysaccharides in Spirulina platensis microalgae on growth performance, body composition and immune response of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). In this regard, 180 rainbow trout (17.22 ± 0.5g) were selected and distributed in five experimental treatments (with three replications). Treatments included different levels of polysaccharide in dosage of 0 (control), 500, 1000, 2000 and 3000 mg / kg of feed. According to the results, in growth factors (final weight, body weight gain, specific growth factor, protein efficiency, feed conversion ratio and condition factor), no significant difference was observed. The highest and the lowest amount of carcass proteins were observed in the diet containing 500 mg polysaccharide and control, which showed a significant difference. The amount of fatty acids of the muscle of the fish body did not show any significant difference among the treatments. The highest and lowest levels of lysozyme activity were observed in treatments of 2,000 mg polysaccharide and control and the highest and lowest levels of complement activity were observed in treatments containing 3000 mg polysaccharide and control respectively (P <0.05). In general, the use of polysaccharide extracted from micro-algae did not significantly improve rainbow trout growth, but a slight improvement in growth and body composition (protein) in 500 mg polysaccharide per kg of diet was observed. In terms of safety indicators, treatments of 2,000 and 3,000 mg of polysaccharides per kg of diet had a good performance and could be used whenever needed.
 

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Summery
       Lentinula edodes(Shitake) is one of the most popular species of edible/medicinal fungus due to its high content of protein, polysaccharide and unique aroma, which is ranked second in the world in terms of cultivation and consumption. Today, its effective compounds are used as adjunctive therapy along with chemical treatments. In this study, the culture medium, acidity and optimum growth temperature of Lentinula edodes (TMU340) mycelium were determined. Mycelium, fruiting body and whole fungi were lyophilized and the wet to dry weight ratio was obtained; Lentinan was extracted using hot water at 60°C, degassing by Sevage method and precipitation with pure ethanol at 4°C and purified by Ion exchange chromatography. Lentinan concentration was obtained by phenol-sulfuric acid test. Results, Optimum conditions including PDA and PDB media, 25°C and pH, 5.5 were determined. The wet to dry weight ratio was 10 to 1 in all samples. Lentinan concentrations after extraction and purification were 0.243, 0.103 and 0.148 mg/ml, respectively. As a result, this fungus can be useful in the production of a variety of metabolites and natural compounds without side effects such as Lentinan polysaccharide as a factor in boosting the immune system.

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Electrostatic interaction between proteins and negatively charged polysaccharides leads to formation of stable colloidal system or causes complex coacervation. Therefore, in this study phase behavior of the mixtures of 0.4% milk proteins (sodium caseinate or whey protein isolate) with soluble fraction of tragacanth (up to 1%) or soluble fraction of Persian gum (up to 2%) as a function of pH (2–7) was investigated, in order to obtain appropriate protein:polysaccharide ratio to formation of soluble complexes in a wide range of pH. According to the results, the mixtures of sodium caseinate–soluble fraction of Persian gum, sodium caseinate–soluble fraction of tragacanth, whey protein isolate–soluble fraction of Persian gum and whey protein isolate–soluble fraction of tragacanth were soluble complexes at the whole pH range at the ratio of 0.4:0.6, 0.4:0.6, 0.4:2 and 0.4:1, respectively. Moreover, it was found that enhancement of total biopolymer concentration (at a same ratio) had no effect on the phase behavior of complexes. In addition, evaluation of the phase behavior of the mixture of milk proteins–alcohol-insoluble fraction of soluble part of native gums illustrated that both alcohol-insoluble and soluble fractions probably have impact on stability of complexes at mentioned ratios.

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One of the most important points for yogurt production is the selection of starter culture, and also because of the necessity to preserve our natural starter cultures and to increase the availability of them for industrial use, the aim of this project was to determine the technological and organoleptic properties of yogurts producted by starter culture isolated from Iranian native yogurts. Eleven different yogurt samples were produced using 5 Lactobasillus delbruekii subsp.bulgaricus and 2 Streptococcus thermophiles isolates. Results showed there were no significant differences between acidifying activity of EPS-producing and non-EPS-producing starter cultures. Also isolates with a high proteolytic activity (isolates used in the examples H and I that proteolytic activity reaches during 28 days to 1 unit) have less the ability to produce acid during storage and viability of these isolates had been more than other strains. Samples that produced by EPS-producing starter culture exhibited better texture properties (consistency, syneresis and water holding capacity) than samples that produced using NEPS-producing starter culture. However, H and I samples due to high proteolytic activity and type of the exopolysaccharide is produced had less desirable textural properties. Syneresis reduced during storage and water holding capacity increased. But the synersis and water holding capacity of the samples produced using starters with high proteolytic activity, such as samples E, H, I similar to other samples until day 21, and in the fourth week the trend of changes has was reversed and the amount of synersis increased and water holding capacity is reduced.

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Objective: Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cell type. They may promote or inhibit CNS inflammation depending on which cytokines are secreted. Astrocytes also have immune roles. IL-19, IL-20, and IL-24 activate a heterodimer receptor composed of the IL-20R1 α-chain and the IL-20R2 β-chain. It has long been considered that signaling by these receptor complexes affects immunological reactions, however the biological functions of IL-20R1 and IL-20R2 in the brain remain unclear. As the first step to address the role of these cytokine receptors in the brain, in this study we have researched the expressions of IL-20R1 and IL-20R2 in C57BL/6 mice astrocytes. Methods: We examined expressions of IL-20R1 and IL-20R2 proteins in mice astroglial cells and in the 1321N1 astrocytoma cell line in response to MOG, LPS and GM-CSF by flow cytometry. The effect of LPS on mRNA expression of IL-20R1 and IL-20R2 was investigated by RT-PCR. Results: We provide, for the first time, evidence that astrocytes expressed IL-20R1 and IL-20R2 mRNA not only in response to LPS stimulation but also in unstimulated astrocytes. We did not observe the expressions of IL-20R1 and IL-20R2 proteins in mice astroglial cells and the 1321N1 astrocytoma cell line. Conclusions: IL-20R1 and IL-20R2 mRNA are constitutively expressed in astrocytes. Because the majority of neuropathological processes involve astrocytes and inflammatory cytokines, the results of this study, which are reported for the first time, have important implications for future research.

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Dairy products can be a rich source of diverse lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with high functional properties, such as exopolysaccharide (EPS) production. EPS are high molecular weight polymers that are composed of sugar units and are secreted by microorganisms into the surrounding environment. Produced EPS can be used as an additive by a health effect and texture properties. In this study, exopolysaccharide producing LAB (ropy and mucoid colonies) were isolated and identified from raw sheep milk and sheep yogurt that made in rural areas of Urmia. For this purpose, lactic acid bacteria cultured on MRS agar and M17 agar media and then isolated on the basis of the ability to produce exopolysaccharides to study the diversity of species by phenotypic methods (Gram stain, biochemical and physiological tests) and then identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). 7 strains of LAB isolated were Gram-positive as well as catalase negative and were able to produce large amounts of EPS. The amounts of bonded and abandoned exopolysaccharides which measured by phenol/sulfuric acid method were 40.28±0.2 to 65.26±0.47 mg/L and 105.68±3.2 to 136.35±0.2 mg/L, respectively. Sheep yogurt which manufactured traditionally in West Azerbaijan province contained exopolysaccharide-producing strains that can have the potential to use in the dairy industry.

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Finding natural, inexpensive and new polysaccharides resources is essential due to the high potential for utilization in the food and medicinal industries. Therefore, the current study was aimed to extraction optimization of polysaccharides from feijoa leaves in order to maximize extraction yield and, evaluate chemical, structural characteristics and antioxidant activity. In this regard, the effects of three independent parameters including extraction temperature (50-90°C), pH of water (3.5-5.5) and extraction time (1-4 h) on the extraction yield were studied. Optimum conditions were obtained at extraction temperature of 68°C, pH of 6.75 and extraction time of 2.96 h. Under optimum conditions, the predicted yield (3.38%) was consistent with the experimental yield (3.35±0.02%). The preliminary chemical characteristics of the polysaccharides extracted from the feijoa leaves were determined under optimum conditions. Based on the results obtained, total carbohydrate content was 54.77%, polyphenols and protein were 0.14 mg GAE and 0.18%, respectively. The FT-IR spectrum demonstrated obvious characteristic peaks of polysaccharides. Feijoa leave polysaccharides mainly consisted of glucose, ribose, mannose, arabinose and galactose. The results of antioxidant activity revealed the good ability of feijoa leave polysaccharides to scavenge DPPH free radicals and to reducing iron ions. Finally, the feijoa leave can be introduced as a natural, inexpensive and new resource for the extraction of polysaccharides with good biological activity for the production of functional foods or medicines.

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Sulfated polysaccharides presenting in the cell wall of seaweeds and aquatic plants exhibit a diverse range of biological functions mainly due to their particular structural and molecular properties. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the inhibition of oxidation reactions and activities of digestive enzymes including α-amylase and α-glucosidase by sulfated polysaccharides from aquatic plant Myriophyllum spicatum. After the removal of pigments and low molecular weight compounds, polysaccharides were extracted by distilled water at 60°C for 2 hours. Polysaccharide purification using DEAE Sepharose FF led to production of two fractions including F1 and F2. Obtained polysaccharides were considerably capable of scavenging DPPH free radicals (20.62-64.81%) and reducing Fe³⁺ ions (0.24-0.50 Abs) with F1 fraction exhibiting the greatest activity. Polysaccharides inhibitions against α-amylase activity were greatly different (22.50-63.20%) with the lowest IC₅₀ being 1.31 mg/mL for F2 fraction. α-glucosidase activity was reduced to various levels (1.30-89.5%) and the lowest IC₅₀ of 10.0 mg/mL was observed for crude polysaccharide. Overall, these findings indicated that sulfated polysaccharides from M. spicatum L. possess promising antioxidant, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition potentials depending on their chemical and molecular structure and thus could be considered as antioxidant and anti-diabetic agents.

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Pomegranate peel is the main by-product during pomegranate processing that valuable source of bioactive compounds with health-beneficial effects. This study has comparatively assessed the effects of two extraction methods (enzymatic and acidic) on pomegranate peel by measuring their bioactivity in terms of total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity, and antidiabetic properties using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical cation decolourization assays, and the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition assays. The TPC mg gallic acid equivalents per g dry weight (GAE mg/g dw) of extracted pectin was ~ 243 and ~ 116 for enzymatic and acidic methods, respectively. The DPPH IC₅₀ of enzymatic pectin was significantly lower than that of acidic pectin (p < 0.05). The ABTS IC₅₀ of enzymatic pectin and acidic pectin was ~ 361 and ~ 945, respectively. The enzymatic pectin showed a significantly stronger α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition effect as compared to the acidic pectin. The α-amylase inhibition was stronger than α-glucosidase inhibition for all samples.
The results indicated that enzymatic extracted pectin showed antioxidant and antidiabetic potential, which could be considered as a promising candidate for functional foods in food formulation.

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Abstract
Nowadays, Polysaccharides are used to improve the nutritional and physicochemical properties of dairy products. The identification of natural compounds such as polysaccharides with antidiabetic and antioxidant properties has become important due to the relationship between diabetes and oxidative stress. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the influence of pectin on the antidiabetic and antioxidant activity of milk fermented by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from traditional Iranian dairy products. Pectin (1%) was added to the samples following milk fermentation by Lactobacillus helveticus and Lactobacillus para-casei strains, and antidiabetic activity was assessed by considering the inhibitory effects on α-amylase and α-glucosidase. The antioxidant activity was determined by evaluating inhibition of 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and hydroxyl radicals. Samples included pectin solution (0.5-3.5 mg/ml and 0.5-10 mg/ml for evaluation of anti-diabetic and antioxidant activity, respectively), whey of fermented and non-fermented milk with (1%) and without pectin. The results indicated the role of  pectin on  inhibition of  α-glucosidase enzyme activity (IC₅₀=2.38 mg/ml), as well as scavenging the DPPH (44.57%), ABTS (28.7%), and Hydroxyl (38.85%) radicals (P<0.05) a concentration of 10 mg/ml. Pectin added to the whey of non-fermented milk sample boosted antioxidant properties and the maximum rate of free radical scavenging activity (35%) was obtained for DPPH radicals. Furthermore, adding pectin to the whey of milk fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus strain improved the activity of the product on inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme (29%), scavenging of DPPH (41.26 %), ABTS (2.5%), and hydroxyl radicals (7.64%) (P<0.05). The results indicated the potential of pectin to be used in the formulation of beneficial food products due to its ability to improve the antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties of fermented milk products.

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In our previous studies, we prepared by mechanical treatment and tested several formulations of plant protection products based on Tebuconazole (TBC) with different delivery systems. As a result of those studies, polysaccharides showed high efficiency in increasing the solubility and the effectiveness of products based on these polymers. An important task in developing an effective seed treatment is to increase the efficiency of adhesion and penetration. However, the question arises as to which factor is more important for plant protection or which factor plays the main role in the activity of the protectants: the amount of dressing agent on the surface of the seed or the amount penetrated into the grain? This question remained unanswered in previous experiments and the purpose of this study was to find an answer to this question. For this purpose, protectants of various compositions based on TBС and polysaccharides were prepared and spring wheat seeds were treated with them. At the same time, these seeds were divided into two variants: seeds treated with protectant (TBС on the surface that managed to penetrate inside the seeds) and seeds whose surface was washed by water and, so, seeds were without sorbed Tebuconazole (TBС only inside the seeds). Thus, seeds were prepared that contained only the Adsorbed tebuconazole (SPrA) and seeds containing the drug that Penetrated into the grain (SPrP). These two types of seeds were used in biological tests and the results obtained were compared. An analysis of seed germination and infection with the main pathogens showed that SPrA seeds had an advantage over SPrP seeds both in germination and in protection from diseases. Further research in this direction will help to understand the effect of the penetration of drugs into plants on the possibility of increasing their efficiency and yield of grain crops.