Elsevier

Food Chemistry

Volume 227, 15 July 2017, Pages 349-357
Food Chemistry

Review
Isolation, structures and bioactivities of the polysaccharides from jujube fruit (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.): A review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.01.074Get rights and content

Highlights

Abstract

Jujube (Ziziphus Jujuba Mill.) has been eaten as a fruit and nutraceutical food in China for thousands of years. Recent phytochemical and pharmacological studies have shown that the polysaccharides are one of major biologically active components of the jujube fruit and have various biological effects, including immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antitumor, hepatoprotective, and hypoglycemic activities, and gastrointestinal-protective effects. Although the extraction and purification of jujube polysaccharides are tedious processes, including different steps of liquid- and solid-phase separation, the polysaccharides have been structurally characterized. However, the relationships between the structures and activities of the jujube polysaccharides are not well established. The purpose of the present review is to appraise the previous and current literature on the extraction, purification, structural characterization, and biological activities of jujube polysaccharides. This review should provide a useful bibliography for the further investigation, production, and application of jujube polysaccharides in functional foods and therapeutic agents.

Introduction

Jujube (Ziziphus Jujuba Mill.) belongs to the genus Ziziphus (Rhamnaceae family) and is largely cultivated in the subtropical and tropical regions, particularly in Australia, southern and eastern Asia, and Europe (Gao, Wu, & Wang, 2013). The Z. jujuba has been cultivated for 4000 years in China, where it is mainly distributed in the northwest region (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province), the Yellow River Valley areas (Ningxia Province, Shaanxi Province, Shanxi Province), and the eastern region (Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Henan Province). China is the only country to export jujube fruit, and its production of jujube was 7,345,300 tonnes and the total area of culture reached approximately 2.8 million hectares in 2014, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China.

In an ancient Chinese book on herbal medicine, Huangdi Neijing (475–221 BCE), the Z. jujuba fruit was considered one of the five most valuable fruits (Chen, Maiwulanjiang et al., 2014), and the fruit was also identified as an excellent herbal medicine in Shennong Bencao Jing (300 BCE-200 CE) (Chen et al., 2013, Chen et al., 2015). Daily consumption of Z. jujuba was believed to calm the mind, improve the quality of sleep and prolong the life-span (Chen, Yan et al., 2014). Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Z. jujuba has sedative and hepatoprotective effects, immunological and antioxidant activities, and anti-inflammatory effects (Lam et al., 2016, Lam et al., 2016, Wojdyło et al., 2016). The multiple pharmacological effects of Z. jujuba can be attributed to its various chemical ingredients, including vitamin C, polysaccharides, phenolic acids (hydroxycinnamic acids and benzoic acids), flavonoids (flavonols and flavan-3-ols), triterpenic acids, and nucleosides (Bai et al., 2016, Fu et al., 2016, Pawlowska et al., 2009, Wojdyło et al., 2016, Xie et al., 2016, Yu et al., 2016). Polysaccharides are one of the most abundant components of the Z. jujuba fruit, and represent a major group of biologically active constituents (Yan, Wang, & Wu, 2014). The Z. jujuba polysaccharides isolated with different extraction and purification methods are structurally diverse biomacromolecules with various physiochemical properties and bioactivities, including immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antitumor, hepatoprotective, and hypoglycemic activities, and gastrointestinal-protective effects (Hammi et al., 2016, Li et al., 2011, Wang et al., 2015, Xie et al., 2016, Yue et al., 2014). To the best of our knowledge, there has been no review of the extraction and purification techniques or the structural characteristics and biological activities of Z. jujuba polysaccharides. Therefore, one of the purposes of this review is to report the relationships between the structural features and biological activities of Z. jujuba polysaccharides.

Section snippets

Extraction and purification methods

Z. jujuba polysaccharides are structural components of the cell wall, so extraction methods are usually based on the deconstruction of the cell wall (Jin et al., 2012, Nie and Xie, 2011). The basic method of extraction involves breaking the outer layer of the cell wall from the inner layer with moderate extraction conditions without changing the structures of the Z. jujuba polysaccharides (Zhang, Cui, Cheung, & Wang, 2007). Extraction in hot or boiling water is the classical and most convenient

Physiochemical and structural features

The physiochemical and structural characteristics of a polysaccharide mainly include its monosaccharide composition, molecular weight, sequence of monosaccharides, configuration of glycosidic linkages, types of glycosidic linkages, and positions of glycosidic linkages, etc. (Cui et al., 2014, Nie and Xie, 2011, Yang and Zhang, 2009, Zhang et al., 2007). Polysaccharides with various monosaccharide constituents and chemical structures have been isolated from Z. jujuba fruit. Several research

Biological activities

Based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the Z. jujuba fruit is widely used to treat lassitude, anorexia, and loose stools, in deficiency syndromes of the spleen, and for hysteria in women (Gao et al., 2013, Guo et al., 2010, Shen et al., 2009). According to many studies, polysaccharides are a major class of bioactive compounds in the Z. jujuba fruit, contributing to its beneficial effects on human health and its pharmacological activities. The multiple bioactivities and health

Correlation of structure, content, and biological activity

The various biological activities of polysaccharides are strongly related to their chemical compositions and configurations (Jin et al., 2012, Wasser, 2002). Few studies of regarding the structure-function relationships of these polysaccharides have been reported, and it is not easy to relate the structures of Z. jujuba polysaccharides to their biological activities. Nevertheless, some relationships can be inferred as follows.

It is well established that the molecular weights of polysaccharides

Conclusions and perspectives

In conclusion, polysaccharides can be effectively isolated and purified from Z. jujuba fruit with various extraction methods, including microwave-assisted and ultrasonic-assisted methods, which are more efficient than only hot water extraction alone. Z. jujuba polysaccharides have a wide range of crucial bioactivities, including immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antitumor, hepatoprotective, and hypoglycemic activities, and they exert gastrointestinal-protective effects. The isolation, structural

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund under (2452016084), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC31401650), Science and Technology Integrated Innovation Project, Shaanxi Province (2013KTZB02-03-04) and National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0400204).

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    These authors contributed equally to this work.

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