Degradation Method, Structural Characteristics, Biological Activity and Structure-Activity Relationship of Degraded Polysaccharides

Polysaccharide is an important natural active ingredient, which has many biological activities such as antioxidation, antitumor and immunomodulation. And it has been widely used in biomedicine and health food. However, the huge molecular weight, complex spatial structure and vague structure-activity relationship of polysaccharide greatly limit the development and utilization of polysaccharide resources. Degradation can achieve structural modification and improve biological activity by reducing molecular weight and affecting its physicochemical properties and spatial conformation. Therefore, degradation may be an effective strategy to produce polysaccharides with excellent biological activity and analyze their structure-activity relationship. In this paper, the degradation methods of polysaccharides and the effects of degradation on their physicochemical properties and biological activities were reviewed. In addition, the development and application of polysaccharide degradation research and the existing problems were summarized and analyzed. This paper provided theoretical basis for polysaccharide degradation, development and utilization and structure-activity relationship research.