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Enzymatic production of 3,6-anhydro-l-galactose from agarose and its purification and in vitro skin whitening and anti-inflammatory activities

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Abstract

3,6-Anhydro-l-galactose (L-AHG) constitutes 50 % of agarose, which is the main component of red macroalgae. No information is currently available on the mass production, metabolic fate, or physiological effects of L-AHG. Here, agarose was converted to L-AHG in the following three steps: pre-hydrolysis of agarose into agaro-oligosaccharides by using acetic acid, hydrolysis of the agaro-oligosaccharides into neoagarobiose by an exo-agarase, and hydrolysis of neoagarobiose into L-AHG and galactose by a neoagarobiose hydrolase. After these three steps, L-AHG was purified by adsorption and gel permeation chromatographies. The final product obtained was 95.6 % pure L-AHG at a final yield of 4.0 % based on the initial agarose. In a cell proliferation assay, L-AHG at a concentration of 100 or 200 μg/ mL did not exhibit any significant cytotoxicity. In a skin whitening assay, 100 μg/ mL of L-AHG showed significantly lower melanin production compared to arbutin. L-AHG at 100 and 200 μg/ mL showed strong anti-inflammatory activity, indicating the significant suppression of nitrite production. This is the first report on the production of high-purity L-AHG and its physiological activities.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Grant (2011-0015629) funded by the Korean Government (MEST) and the Korea University Grant. Facility support at Korea University Food Safety Hall for the Institute of Biomedical Science and Food Safety is also acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 136-713, Korea

    Eun Ju Yun, Hee Taek Kim, Sun Hee Lee & Kyoung Heon Kim

  2. Division of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 136-713, Korea

    Saeyoung Lee & In-Geol Choi

  3. School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 702-701, Korea

    Ji Hye Kim, Bo Bae Kim & Nam Joo Kang

  4. Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Jeffrey G. Pelton

  5. School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 702-701, Korea

    Ji Hye Kim, Bo Bae Kim & Nam Joo Kang

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  1. Eun Ju Yun
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  2. Saeyoung Lee
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Correspondence to Nam Joo Kang, In-Geol Choi or Kyoung Heon Kim.

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Yun, E.J., Lee, S., Kim, J.H. et al. Enzymatic production of 3,6-anhydro-l-galactose from agarose and its purification and in vitro skin whitening and anti-inflammatory activities. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 2961–2970 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4184-z

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