Immunological evaluation of Gum kondagogu (Cochlospermum gossypium ): A tree gum with potential applications in food and pharma industry

Polysaccharides from exudate gums of plants and interactions with the intestinal microbiota: A review of vegetal biopolymers and prediction of their prebiotic potential

Polysaccharides in plant-exuded gums are complex biopolymers consisting of a wide range of structural variability (linkages, monosaccharide composition, substituents, conformation, chain length and branching). The structural features of polysaccharides confer the ability to be exploited in different industrial sectors and applications involving biological systems. Moreover, these characteristics are attributed to a direct relationship in the process of polysaccharide enzymatic degradation by the fermentative action in the gut microbiota, through intrinsic interactions connecting bacterial metabolism and the production of various metabolites that are associated with regulatory effects on the host homeostasis system. Molecular docking analysis between bacterial target proteins and arabinogalactan-type polysaccharide obtained from gum arabic allowed the identification of intermolecular interactions provided bacterial enzymatic mechanism for the degradation of several arabinogalactan monosaccharide chains, as a model for the study and prediction of potential fermentable polysaccharide. This review discusses the main structural characteristics of polysaccharides from exudate gums of plants and their interactions with the intestinal microbiota.

Alkenyl succinic anhydride modified tree-gum kondagogu: A bio-based material with potential for food packaging

Tree gums are a class of abundantly available carbohydrate polymers that have not been explored thoroughly in film fabrication for food packaging. Films obtained from pristine tree gums are often brittle, hygroscopic, and lack mechanical strength. This study focuses on the chemical modification of gum kondagogu using long-chain alkenyl groups of dodecenyl succinic anhydride (DDSA), an esterifying agent that introduces a 12-carbon hydrophobic chain to the kondagogu structure. The esterification reaction was confirmed by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The effect of nano-cellulose as an additive on various film properties was investigated. The developed films were characterized for their mechanical, morphological, optical, barrier, antibacterial, and biodegradable properties. The inclusion of long-chain carbon groups acted as internal plasticizers and resulted in an amorphous structure with better film-forming ability, improved hydrophobicity, and higher elongation at break values. The modified films exhibited antibacterial properties and excellent biodegradability under aerobic conditions.

Biomacromolecule assembly based on gum kondagogu-sodium alginate composites and their expediency in flexible packaging films

The assembly of bio-based macromolecules of gum kondagogu/sodium alginate (KO/SA) was fabricated using glycerol as a plasticiser and their optimum blending ratio was identified based on their physical and chemical, structural, mechanical, barrier, and morphological properties. The attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis show that both biomacromolecules are well organised due to the hydrogen bond interaction between molecular chains involving the hydroxyl, carbonyl, and acetyl groups. Structural identification was performed by recording X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was used to identify the distinction between the surface of the films of biopolymers, and their conjugates, where the addition of SA increased the surface homogeneity and smoothness. The water contact angle of the blend films reached up to 81°, although the value for pure biomacromolecule films was very low. The blend films also exhibited high tensile strength (up to 24 MPa) compared to the pure biopolymer films. Investigation of film-forming ability, mechanical strength, permeability, transparency, and biodegradability of the developed KO/SA bio-macromolecular association may be established as green and sustainable food packaging films.

Synthesis and characterisation of novel biopolymer stabilised organic Pt-nanocomposite: assessment of its antioxidant and antitumour properties

Green synthesis of organic Pt-nanocomposite was accomplished using carboplatin as a precursor and novel biopolymer - gum kondagogu (GK) as a reducing agent. The synthesised GK stabilised organic Pt-nanocomposite (GKCPt NC) was characterised by different analytical techniques such as ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, nanoparticle analyser, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer. The XRD pattern established the amorphous nature of GKCPt NC. TEM analysis revealed the homogeneous, monodisperse and spherical nature, with Pt metal size of 3.08 ± 0.62 nm. The binding energy at 71.2 and 74.6 eV show the presence of metallic platinum, Pt(0) confirmed by XPS studies. Further, in vitro radical scavenging and antitumour activity of GKCPt NC have been investigated. In comparison to GK and carboplatin, GKCPt NC showed superior 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyle activity of 87.82%, whereas 2, 2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthinzoline-6-sulphonic acid) activity was 38.50%, respectively. In vitro studies of the antitumour property of GK, GKCPt NC and carboplatin were evaluated by potato disc tumour bioassay model. The efficacy of synthesised GKCPt NC concentration (IC50) on tumour inhibition was found to be 2.04-fold lower as compared to carboplatin. Overall, the synthesised GKCPt NC shows both antitumour and antioxidant properties when compared to the original drug - carboplatin and might have promising applications in cancer therapy.

Tree gum-based renewable materials: Sustainable applications in nanotechnology, biomedical and environmental fields

The prospective uses of tree gum polysaccharides and their nanostructures in various aspects of food, water, energy, biotechnology, environment and medicine industries, have garnered a great deal of attention recently. In addition to extensive applications of tree gums in food, there are substantial non-food applications of these commercial gums, which have gained widespread attention due to their availability, structural diversity and remarkable properties as 'green' bio-based renewable materials. Tree gums are obtainable as natural polysaccharides from various tree genera possessing exceptional properties, including their renewable, biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic nature and their ability to undergo easy chemical modifications. This review focuses on non-food applications of several important commercially available gums (arabic, karaya, tragacanth, ghatti and kondagogu) for the greener synthesis and stabilization of metal/metal oxide NPs, production of electrospun fibers, environmental bioremediation, bio-catalysis, biosensors, coordination complexes of metal-hydrogels, and for antimicrobial and biomedical applications. Furthermore, polysaccharides acquired from botanical, seaweed, animal, and microbial origins are briefly compared with the characteristics of tree gum exudates.