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ENHANCED BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF LAMINARIN DEGRADED BY GAMMA‐RAY IRRADIATION
Author(s) -
CHOI JONGIL,
KIM HYUNJOO,
KIM JAEHUN,
LEE JUWOON
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of food biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-4514
pISSN - 0145-8884
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-4514.2011.00552.x
Subject(s) - laminarin , chemistry , food science , antioxidant , irradiation , polysaccharide , biochemistry , physics , nuclear physics
In this study, we investigated the antioxidant and melanin synthesis inhibitory properties of gamma‐irradiated laminarin. Antioxidant activities as measured by ferric‐reducing antioxidant potential values and 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity were found to be greater in irradiated laminarin than in nonirradiated laminarin. However, nonirradiated and irradiated laminarins did not exhibit significant differences in β‐carotene bleaching assays. Moreover, inhibitory activity against melanin synthesis in B16BL6 melanoma cells was increased by gamma‐irradiated laminarin. The content of reducing sugars in laminarin was found to increase with increased irradiation doses. These results and the molecular weight measured by gel permeation chromatography indicate that laminarin is degraded to a low molecular weight form by the scission of glycosidic bonds. Overall, low molecular weight laminarin may have beneficial biological properties, and gamma irradiation may be an effective method of producing low molecular weight laminarin. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Laminarin is a type of storage polysaccharide derived from seaweed. Because of its indigestibility in the upper gastrointestinal tract, laminarin is considered as a dietary fiber. Other beneficial biological properties have been attributed to laminarin, but studies have shown these properties to be ineffective. Therefore, in this study, laminarin was degraded by gamma irradiation to enhance the effects of these biological properties. We observed that gamma‐irradiated laminarin had higher antioxidative and melanin synthesis inhibitory activities than nonirradiated laminarin did. The results of this study suggest that laminarin may provide dietary benefits beyond its use as an effective dietary fiber.