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Levan

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Polysaccharides of Microbial Origin

Abstract

Polysaccharides generated by microorganisms display structural diversity in terms of monosaccharide structure and organization, molecular weight, and branch design. This diversity facilitates their use in a plethora of food, health, biomedical, pharmaceutical, and cosmeceutical applications. Besides some of the well-known and industrially popular microbial polysaccharides like xanthan and dextrans, the effort to discover novel polymers with distinct functionalities has been on the rise in recent decades. Among these polymers, fructans are a class of homopolysaccharides made up of fructose residues. Though the β-2,1 linked fructan inulin has been extensively studied and widely used in the food industry for a long time, its β-2,6 linked counterpart, levan, has now started to spark interest. Already levan has proven to be an incredibly versatile polymer thanks to its unique combination of physicochemical properties and potent biological activities. Health-related opportunities reported on in recent publications include levan as an antitumor, antioxidant, immunostimulant, antimicrobial, and a wound healing substance. The polymer has been tested for a potential role in the treatment of ulcers, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, and low calcium absorption. This overview summarizes recent findings on prospective uses of levan for the health and well-being of mankind.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioengineering Department, Industrial Biotechnology and Systems Biology Research Group – IBSB, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey

    Onur Kırtel

  2. Montana Biopolymers Inc., Winnsboro, SC, USA

    Joan Combie

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  1. Onur Kırtel
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  2. Joan Combie
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Correspondence to Joan Combie .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Zona Industrial da Gandra, Barco, Guimarães, Portugal

    Joaquim Miguel Oliveira

  2. 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Zona Industrial da Gandra, Barco, Guimarães, Portugal

    Hajer Radhouani

  3. 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Zona Industrial da Gandra, Barco, Guimarães, Portugal

    Rui L. Reis

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Kırtel, O., Combie, J. (2022). Levan. In: Oliveira, J.M., Radhouani, H., Reis, R.L. (eds) Polysaccharides of Microbial Origin. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42215-8_3

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