What does alginate do to your body?
What Is Alginate Oligosaccharide?
Before formally introducing the marine biostimulant brown algae oligosaccharide, let's first understand what oligosaccharides are. Sugar is the basis of all life. It is not only the source of life energy, but also a part of the synthesis of biological molecules. Sugar is an aldehyde or ketone compound containing polyhydroxyl groups, composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements. According to the different sugar structures, sugars can be divided into monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, conjugated sugars and derived sugars. Oligosaccharides are sugars composed of 2-10 monosaccharide molecules (monosaccharides are simple sugars composed of a single sugar molecule, and monosaccharides cannot be hydrolyzed into smaller sugars). Common oligosaccharides include oligofructose, oligogalactose and oligoglucose. Oligosaccharides have many benefits in humans and plants. They not only provide energy, but also have prebiotic effects, which can promote intestinal health and increase the growth of probiotics. Both monosaccharides and oligosaccharides are soluble in water, and most of them have a sweet taste. In the agricultural field, oligosaccharides are also widely used in feed additives and crop growth regulation, which can improve the immune resistance of plants and increase the yield of crops and the quality of fruits. Alginate oligosaccharide (AOS) is a degradation product of alginate and a functional oligosaccharide with a degree of polymerization of 2-10.
The functions of algae oligosaccharides of different molecular weights are related to the degree of polymerization of oligosaccharides. For example, trisaccharides, tetrasaccharides, pentasaccharides, and hexasaccharides have the strongest growth-promoting activity, and oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization of 3-5 have the strongest root growth-promoting activity. Only oligosaccharides of a specific length have the activity of elicitors, causing crop immune responses. Oligosaccharides with too small a degree of polymerization cannot induce plants to produce a defensive response. Oligosaccharides with too large a degree of polymerization cannot contact the cell membrane due to the barrier effect of the cell wall. Therefore, the effects of algae oligosaccharides on crops vary greatly with different degrees of polymerization.
What Are The Functions Of Alginate Oligosaccharide?
Antioxidant
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are substances produced by metabolism under normal physiological and pathological conditions. ROS participate in intracellular signal transduction cascades and are essential in certain biological reactions. Excessive oxidative damage leads to the loss of essential cell functions, ultimately causing cell apoptosis or necrosis. Removing ROS or inhibiting its production by natural or synthetic antioxidants can effectively prevent oxidative stress-induced cell death.
AOS can effectively inhibit oxidative stress and has sufficient resistance to diseases caused by oxidative stress.
Immunomodulation
Brown algae oligosaccharides can stimulate immune response-related cells, such as monocytes and macrophages to secrete cytokines, restore and strengthen the body's immune system, and can exert a variety of physiological activities through immunomodulatory effects.
Anti-inflammatory
Brown algae oligosaccharides can inhibit the activation of microglia and reduce the production of inflammatory mediators, thereby playing a role in the treatment of neuroinflammation. The anti-inflammatory effects of AOS obtained by different degradation methods are significantly different. Compared with AOS prepared by other methods, AOS produced by oxidative degradation has a stronger inhibitory effect on inflammation. The structure of AOS also determines their activity. When developing AOS as an anti-inflammatory drug, the effect of the degradation method on the AOS structure must be fully considered. The anti-inflammatory activity of alginate oligosaccharides obtained by oxidative degradation can bring new prospects for its clinical application.
What Is The Application Of Alginate Oligosaccharide?
Agricultural field
Brown algae oligosaccharides can stimulate plant growth, improve photosynthesis efficiency, increase chlorophyll content, improve plant nutritional status, promote nutrient absorption and transport, and thus help improve crop yield and quality.
Brown algae oligosaccharides can also enhance the resistance of plants to adverse conditions. For example, under adverse environmental conditions such as drought, cold, and high temperature, crops applied with brown algae oligosaccharides have stronger adaptability and can maintain a higher survival rate and growth rate.
Brown algae oligosaccharides can also increase the content of soil organic matter and humus, improve soil structure, and improve the soil's ability to retain water and fertilizer, which helps maintain the ecological balance of the soil, promote the reproduction of soil microorganisms, and increase soil biological activity.
Beauty field
Algin oligosaccharides can relieve skin sensitivity and inflammation and promote skin damage repair. It can effectively inhibit the activity of monophenolase and bisphenolase, inhibit the production of melanin, and thus even out and brighten the skin tone. Algin oligosaccharides have a small molecular weight, are easy to penetrate the skin, have strong moisturizing properties, and provide lasting moisture to the skin.
Aquaculture field
Marine microalgae are important biological baits in aquaculture. AOS can promote the growth of plants by improving their carbon and nitrogen assimilation capacity.