Fragments of a pectin from Arctium lappa L: Molecular properties and intestinal regulation activity

Pectin is the most studied compound. However, recently, more attention has been paid to the health care of pectin oligosaccharides, especially the potential of prebiotics. In order to obtain lower molecular weight molecules with improved bioactivities, the pectin (ALP2) was partially degraded by acid and enzymatic hydrolysis. The molecular weights of acid hydrolyzed fragment (ALP2-A) and enzymatic hydrolyzed fragment (ALP2-E) were 2.4 × 104 Da and 5.8 × 103 Da, respectively. ALP2-A was composed of rhamnose and galacturonic acid while ALP2-E contained rhamnose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, galactose, and arabinose. Rheological experiments showed that ALP2-A and ALP2-E solutions had lower viscosity than that of ALP2 solution, exhibited shear-thinning behavior and belonged to pseudoplastic fluids. ALP2-A could alleviate the constipation symptoms of mice while ALP2-A and ALP2-E had better intestinal flora regulation activity than that of ALP2. Therefore, the results indicated that ALP2-A and ALP2-E could be recommended as potential prebiotic or functional food that could benefit the host by regulating human gut microbiota.