Bioactive polysaccharides from Momordica charantia as functional ingredients: a review of their extraction, bioactivities, structural-activity relationships, and application prospects

Abstract

Momordica charantia L. is a well-known medicine and food homology plant with high pharmaceutical and nutritional values. Polysaccharides are carbohydrate polymers connected by glycosidic bonds, one of the key functional ingredients of M. charantia. Recently, M. charantia polysaccharides (MCPs) have attracted much attention from industries and researchers due to their anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-diabetes, anti-bacteria, immunomodulatory, neuroprotection, and organ protection activities. However, the development and utilization of MCPs-based functional foods and medicines were hindered by the lack of a deeper understanding of the structure-activity relationship (SAR), structural modification, applications, and safety of MCPs. Herein, we provide an overview of the extraction, purification, structural characterization, bioactivities, and mechanisms of MCPs. Besides, SAR, toxicities, application, and influences of the modification associated with bioactivities are spotlighted, and the potential development and future study direction are scrutinized. This review provides knowledge and research underpinnings for the further research and application of MCPs as therapeutic agents and functional food additives.

Keywords:

• Momordica charantia polysaccharides (MCPs)
• functional ingredients
• structural features
• bioactivities
• structure-activity relationship
• application

Acknowledgements

The figures are created with Figdraw. com. (https://www.figdraw.com/)

Disclosure statement

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

Authors’ contributions

Jiamei Zheng comprehended and wrote the initial review. Mingyue Shang and Guona Dai discussed with Jiamei Zheng and helped Jiamei Zheng to modify manuscripts. Yaping Wang and Jingjing Dong suggested some amendments to the initial review. Baozhong Duan and Yaping Wang supervised the project and edited the final version of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the key technology projects in the Yunnan province of China (202002AA100007) and the Yunnan academician expert workstation (202205AF150026), Yunnan Xingdian talent support plan [YNWR-QNBJ-2020251].