Lignin–carbohydrate complexes, their fractionation, and application to healthcare materials: A review

Hemicellulose, chitosan, and lignin-based biopolymer films for an improved and sustainable food packaging: A comprehensive review

The contemporary food industry faces mounting challenges related to environmental sustainability, particularly due to the excessive use of non-biodegradable, petroleum-derived plastic packaging materials, which contribute significantly to ecological degradation and food waste. In response, there is growing interest in developing sustainable food packaging solutions that combine superior functional properties with reduced environmental impact. Biopolymers such as hemicellulose, chitosan, and lignin, derived from renewable plant and marine sources, hold significant promise in this regard. These innovative materials exhibit desirable properties, including biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and minimal carbon emissions, while offering the potential to preserve food quality by enhancing moisture and gas barriers, inhibiting microbial growth, and preventing lipid oxidation. This narrative review explores the structural and functional attributes of these biopolymers, their fabrication methodologies, and their applications within the food packaging industry. Additionally, strategies to overcome current technological challenges, such as limited gas and liquid resistance and complex manufacturing processes, are discussed, with emphasis on molecular modifications, blending techniques, and nanomaterial integration. By advancing hemicellulose-, chitosan-, and lignin-based films as sustainable alternatives, this review highlights the pivotal role of biopolymers in addressing the dual imperatives of ecological responsibility and food preservation, paving the way for innovative, scalable packaging technologies.

Chemistry of lignin and condensed tannins as aromatic biopolymers

Aromatic biopolymers are the second largest group of biopolymers after polysaccharides. Depolymerization of aromatic biopolymers, as cheap and renewable substitutes for fossil-based resources, has been used in the preparation of biofuels, and a range of aromatic and aliphatic small molecules. Additionally, these polymers exhibit a robust UV-shielding function due to the high content of aromatic groups. Meanwhile, the abundance of phenolic groups in their structures gives these compounds outstanding antioxidant capabilities, making them well-suited for a diverse array of anti-UV and medical applications. Nevertheless, these biopolymers possess inherent drawbacks in their pristine states, such as rigid structure, low solubility, and lack of desired functionalities, which hinder their complete exploitation across diverse sectors. Thus, the modification and functionalization of aromatic biopolymers are essential to provide them with specific functionalities and features needed for particular applications. Aromatic biopolymers include lignins, tannins, melanins, and humic acids. The objective of this review is to offer a thorough reference for assessing the chemistry and functionalization of lignins and condensed tannins. Lignins represent the largest and most prominent category of aromatic biopolymers, typically distinguishable as either softwood-derived or hardwood-derived lignins. Besides, condensed tannins are the most investigated group of the tannin family. The electron-rich aromatic rings, aliphatic hydroxyl groups, and phenolic groups are the main functional groups in the structure of lignins and condensed tannins. Methoxy groups are also abundant in lignins. Each group displays varying chemical reactivity within these biopolymers. Therefore, the selective and specific functionalization of lignins and condensed tannins can be achieved by understanding the chemistry behavior of these functional groups. Targeted applications include biomedicine, monomers and surface active agents for sustainable plastics.

Renewable hemicellulose-based materials for value-added applications

The importance of renewable resources and environmentally friendly materials has grown globally in recent time. Hemicellulose is renewable lignocellulosic materials that have been the subject of substantial valorisation research. Due to its distinctive benefits, including its wide availability, low cost, renewability, biodegradability, simplicity of chemical modification, etc., it has attracted increasing interest in a number of value-added fields. In this review, a systematic summarizes of the structure, extraction method, and characterization technique for hemicellulose-based materials was carried out. Also, their most current developments in a variety of value-added adsorbents, biomedical, energy-related, 3D-printed materials, sensors, food packaging applications were discussed. Additionally, the most recent challenges and prospects of hemicellulose-based materials are emphasized and examined in-depth. It is anticipated that in the near future, persistent scientific efforts will enable the renewable hemicellulose-based products to achieve practical applications.

How do the main components influence the VOCs emission characteristics and formation pathways during moso bamboo heat treatment?

Bamboo heat treatment will cause plenty of release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere which are important precursors for ozone (O3) formation. In this study, dewaxed bamboo was heat-treated at 180 °C for 2 h to investigate the emission characteristics and the formation pathways of VOCs during heat treatment by removing different main components. The results showed that aldehydes (22.61%-57.54%) and esters (14.64%-38.88%) are the primary VOCs released during heat treatment. These compounds mainly originate from the degradation of hemicellulose, lignin, cellulose, and the linkage bonds between them in bamboo. During the bamboo heat treatment, the degradation of CO, CH, and CO bonds in hemicellulose results in the release of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, 3-furfural, and 1-(+)-ascorbic acid 2,6-dihexadecanoate. The breakage of benzene ring group and the CO and CH bonds of lignin leading to the emission of VOCs including m-Formylphenol, Vanillin, and Syringaldehyde. The degradation of aliphatic CH, CC, and CO bonds in the amorphous region of cellulose contributes to an enhanced release of alcohols, olefins, and alkanes. It is calculated that acids (28.92%-59.47%), esters (10.10%-22.03%) and aldehydes (17.88%-39.91%) released during heat treatment contributed more to Ozone Formation Potential (OFP).

Recent advances in production of sustainable and biodegradable polymers from agro-food waste: Applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicines

Agro-food waste is a rich source of biopolymers such as cellulose, chitin, and starch, which have been shown to possess excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low toxicity. These properties make biopolymers from agro-food waste for its application in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Thus, this review highlighted the properties, processing methods, and applications of biopolymers derived from various agro-food waste sources. We also highlight recent advances in the development of biopolymers from agro-food waste and their potential for future tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, including drug delivery, wound healing, tissue engineering, biodegradable packaging, excipients, dental applications, diagnostic tools, and medical implants. Additionally, it explores the challenges, prospects, and future directions in this rapidly evolving field. The review showed the evolution of production techniques for transforming agro-food waste into valuable biopolymers. However, these biopolymers serving as the cornerstone in scaffold development and drug delivery systems. With their role in wound dressings, cell encapsulation, and regenerative therapies, biopolymers promote efficient wound healing, cell transplantation, and diverse regenerative treatments. Biopolymers support various regenerative treatments, including cartilage and bone regeneration, nerve repair, and organ transplantation. Overall, this review concluded the potential of biopolymers from agro-food waste as a sustainable and cost-effective solution in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, offering innovative solutions for medical treatments and promoting the advancement of these fields.

Extraction of super high-yield lignin-carbohydrate complexes from rice straw without compromising cellulose hydrolysis

Lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC) that exhibit both structural advantages of lignin and carbohydrates are promising amphiphilic biopolymers, but the extraction is challenged by its liable chemical bond cleavage between lignin and carbohydrates. This work proposed a facile chemical route to integrating the production of water-insoluble (WIS LCC) and water-soluble LCC (WS LCC) into the emerging deep eutectic solvent (DES) biorefinery at mild conditions. The tailored mechanochemical fractionation process of ball milling assisted aqueous alkaline DES could extract 24.2 % LCC in total, with the co-production of a highly hydrolysable cellulose fraction (98.7 % glucose conversion). The resulting LCC exhibited considerably high contents of β-O-4, phenyl glycoside, and ferulic acid linkage bonds. When 100 g starting straw was subjected to this technique route, 9.1 g WIS LCC, 15.1 g WS LCC and 45.5 g glucose were cascaded produced. It was proposed that the selective disruption of hydrogen bonding entangled network and the quasi-state dissolution of the whole biomass allowed the subsequent cascade fractionation of WIS LCC, WS LCC and highly hydrolysable cellulose through solution property adjustment. This work showed a promising approach for LCC production with high yield without compromising cellulose conversion potential, which has been challenging in the current lignocellulose biorefinery.

Structural variations of lignin and lignin-carbohydrate complexes from the fruit shells of Camellia oleifera during ripening

Camellia oleifera fruit shell (CFS), a waste lignocellulosic biomass resulting from Camellia oleifera oil production industry, is abundantly available in Southern China. Herein, to understand the structural variations of CFS lignins and lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC) during ripening, the native lignin and LCC fractions from CFS (harvested every seven days from October 1 to 30, 2022) were isolated and characterized systematically. The molecular weights of both MWL and DEL fractions steadily increased during ripening. CFS lignins contained abundance of β-O-4' linkages (maximum of 58.6 per 100Ar in DEL-2), and had low S/G ratios (S/G < 0.6). Moreover, the amounts of β-O-4' linkages in MWL, DEL, and LCC-AcOH fractions increased first and then decreased during ripening. The main lignin-carbohydrate linkages in the LCC-AcOH fractions were benzyl-ether (7.0-9.4 per 100Ar) and phenyl-glycoside (4.5-5.2 per 100Ar) bonds. Based on the quantitative results, the potential structural diagrams of lignins from different ripening stages of CFS were proposed. Additionally, the LCC-AcOH fractions exhibited pronounced antioxidant capacity and were promising as natural antioxidants. The properties and functions of lignin in plant cell walls, as well as its further appreciation, are crucial for the design and selection of feasible pretreatment strategies for the lignocellulosic materials.

Efficient ultraviolet blocking film on the lignin-rich lignocellulosic nanofibril from bamboo

The ultraviolet (UV) blocking performance of current bio-based devices is always limited by delignification and exploited chemical treatment. Lignocellulosic nanofibril (LCNF) is a promising green alternative that could efficiently impede UV radiation. Herein, we proposed a robust LCNF film that achieved 99.8 ± 0.19 % UVB blocking, 96.1 ± 0.23 % UVA blocking, and was highly transparent without complex chemical modification. Compared to conventional lignin composites, this LCNF method involves 29.5 ± 2.31 % lignin content directly extracted from bamboo as a broad-spectrum sun blocker. This bamboo-based LCNF film revealed an excellent tensile strength of 94.9 ± 3.6 MPa and outstanding stability, adapting to the natural environment's variability. The residual hemicellulose could also embed the link between lignin and cellulose, confirming high lignin content in the network. The connection between lignin and hemicelluloses in the cellulose network was explored and described for the fibrillation of lignocellulosic nanofibrils. This research highlights the promising development of LCNFs for UV protection and bio-based solar absorption materials.

Investigation of chemical linkages between lignin and carbohydrates in cultured poplar cambium tissues via double isotope labeling

Lignin precursor labeled with ¹³C (coniferin-¹³Cα), carbohydrate precursor labeled with D (6,6-D₂-glucose) were put into cambium tissue stripped from a growing poplar. The tissue was further cultured in vitro for 18d. Then, the isotopic abundance was determined. The results showed that the labeled precursors could be normally involved in the formation of new xylem. The labeled new xylem tissue was fractionated by ionic liquid DMSO/TBAH system to obtain two components: glucan-lignin complex (GL) and xylan-lignin complex (XL). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that the crystalline form of cellulose in the GL component was transformed from type I to type II after the ionic liquid separation. Then the GL and XL were purified and modified by enzymatic and chemical methods, and their structures were elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The results showed that lignin subunits in the cultured tissues were mainly connected by β-5 and β-O-4 linkages, of which the β-O-4 substructure unit predominated. Lignin and carbohydrates were mainly connected by acetal bonds, ether bonds, and ester bonds. Combined with the carbohydrate composition and XRD analysis results, the GL components also confirmed the existence of acetal bonds, ester bonds and ether bonds between lignin and cellulose.

Antioxidant and ultraviolet shielding performance of lignin-polysaccharide complex isolated from spent coffee ground

Spent coffee ground (SCG) is a representative type of biomass waste with huge annual output. To better develop high value applications of SCG, in this study, the lignin-polysaccharide complex (LPC) was isolated from SCG by applying effective ball milling and the subsequent solvent extraction of 96 % 1, 4-dioxane aqueous solution. In addition to the comprehensive analyses of the obtained LPC regarding its chemical composition, surface morphology, molecular weight distribution, characteristic functional groups, surface chemical linkages, and thermal stability, its potentials in radical scavenging and UV shielding had been emphatically investigated. As revealed from the results, a proper duration (e.g., 4 h) of UV irradiation could evidently enhance the radical-scavenging capacity of LPC, ascribed to the increasing number of antioxidant groups. Moreover, the LPC-containing composite sunscreens also exhibited strengthened UV resistance after UV irradiation, which may benefit from the UV-induced conjugated structures and the π-π stacking of aromatic rings from both LPC and the active ingredients in commercial sunscreen. Therefore, LPC is highly promising to be exploited for the development of novel antioxidants and UV-shielding products, by virtue of its characteristic chemical structure and potential synergistic effect with other active ingredients from the composite.

Structural variation of lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC) in Chinese quince (Chaenomeles sinensis) fruit as it ripens

Chinese quince (Chaenomeles sinensis) fruits are rich in lignin, and too sour, astringent and woody to be eaten raw. More than 50 % of lignin in plant cell walls is covalently associated with carbohydrates to form lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC). In this study, LCC preparations were extracted from fruits harvested on the 15th day of the month from May-October 2019. A variety of chemical and instrumental analytical approaches were used to characterize the LCC fractions, including HPAEC, TGA, GPC, FT-IR, and 2D HSQC NMR. Antioxidant activities were evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging assays. Results showed that the LCC fractions from October fruits had better thermal stability and homogeneity. NMR results revealed that the lignin-lignin linkages in LCC-AcOH preparations included β-O-4', β-β' and β-5', but β-5' linkages were not present in LCC preparations. And the NMR signals of carbohydrate confirmed the presence of lignin-pectin complexes, which was consistent with sugar analysis. All LCC preparations showed good antioxidant activity, among which Björkman LCC from October fruits showed best. This study will facilitate understanding the chemical bonds of LCC macromolecules in the plant cell wall. More specifically, it provides information critical for specific industrial applications of quince fruits.

Effects of segmented aerobic and anaerobic fermentation assisted with chemical treatment on comprehensive properties and composition of wheat straw

Traditional aerobic composting used for straw treatment shows limited regulation effects and unstable properties, and it is necessary to introduce some co-processing methods to optimize its performance. Herein, segmented aerobic/anaerobic fermentation, combined with chemical treatment with wood vinegar/NaOH, was used to treat wheat straw. The results showed that anaerobic fermentation when used as the first stage could stabilize the wheat straw pH between 5.19 and 6.13 and improve nutrient contents. All treatments had greater effects on substrate aeration porosities (range of 14%) than on total porosity (range of 6%), and the water-holding porosities were improved to a greater extent by NaOH than by wood vinegar. The hemicellulose degradation rate of aerobic-anaerobic treatment was higher than that achieved with anaerobic-aerobic treatment, while the latter method was more effective at removing the neutral detergent-soluble as well as remaining organic matter, which was generated due to a higher KCl content in the ash.

Enhancing for Bagasse Enzymolysis via Intercrystalline Swelling of Cellulose Combined with Hydrolysis and Oxidation

To overcome the biological barriers formed by the lignin–carbohydrate complex for releasing fermentable sugars from cellulose by enzymolysis is both imperative and challenging. In this study, a strategy of intergranular swelling of cellulose combined with hydrolysis and oxidation was demonstrated. Pretreatment of the bagasse was evaluated by one bath treatment with phosphoric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The chemical composition, specific surface area (SSA), and pore size of bagasse before and after pretreatment were investigated, while the experiments on the adsorption equilibrium of cellulose to cellulase and reagent reuse were also performed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were employed for microscopic morphology observations and glucose analysis, respectively. The results showed that pretreated bagasse was deconstructed into cellulose with a nanofibril network, most of the hemicellulose (~100%) and lignin (~98%) were removed, and the SSA and void were enlarged 11- and 5-fold, respectively. This simple, mild preprocessing method enhanced cellulose accessibility and reduced the biological barrier of the noncellulose component to improve the subsequent enzymolysis with a high glucose recovery (98.60%).

Lignin-carbohydrate complexes suppress SCA3 neurodegeneration via upregulating proteasomal activities

Lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCCs) represent a group of macromolecules with diverse biological functions such as antioxidative properties. Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) comprise a set of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the formation of polyQ protein aggregates in patient neurons. LCCs have been reported to prevent such protein aggregation. In this study, we identified a potential mechanism underlying the above anti-protein aggregation activity. We isolated and characterized multiple LCC fractions from bamboo and poplar and found that lignin-rich LCCs (BM-LCC-AcOH and PR-LCC-AcOH) effectively eliminated both monomeric and aggregated mutant ataxin-3 (ATXN3polyQ) proteins in neuronal cells and a Drosophila melanogaster SCA3 disease model. In addition, treatment with BM-LCC-AcOH or PR-LCC-AcOH rescued photoreceptor degeneration in vivo. At the mechanistic level, we demonstrated that BM-LCC-AcOH and PR-LCC-AcOH upregulated proteasomal activity. When proteasomal function was impaired, the ability of the LCCs to suppress ATXN3polyQ aggregation was abolished. Thus, we identified a previously undescribed proteasome-inducing function of LCCs and showed that such activity is indispensable for the beneficial effects of LCCs on SCA3 neurotoxicity.