Chemistry Biochemistry And Biology Of 1 3 Beta Glucans And Related Polysaccharides

The book presents a comprehensive, systematic and authoritative survey of information about a family of chemically related, but functionally diverse, naturally occurring polysaccharides--the (1-3)-glucans. International contributors describe the chemical and physicochemical properties of these glucans and their derivatives and the molecular biological and structural aspects of the enzymes involved in their formation and breakdown. A detailed analysis of their physiological roles in the various biological situations in which they are found will be provided. Additionally, evolutionary relationships among the family of these glucans will be described. * Topics of medical relevance include detailing the glucans' interactions with the immune system and research for cancer therapy applications * Web resource links allow scientists to explore additional beta glucan research * Separate indexes divided into Species and Subject for enhanced searchability

Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Biology of 1-3 Beta Glucans and Related Polysaccharides presents a comprehensive, systematic and authoritative survey of information about a family of chemically related, but functionally diverse, naturally occurring polysaccharides--the (1-3)-glucans. International contributors describe the chemical and physicochemical properties of these glucans and their derivatives and the molecular biological and structural aspects of the enzymes involved in their formation and breakdown. A detailed analysis of their physiological roles in the various biological situations in which they are found will be provided. Additionally, evolutionary relationships among the family of these glucans will be described. Topics of medical relevance include detailing the glucans' interactions with the immune system and research for cancer therapy applications Web resource links allow scientists to explore additional beta glucan research Separate indexes divided into Species and Subject for enhanced searchability

This book presents a comprehensive and systematic survey on (1-3)-B-glucans. Glucans with the (1-3)-B-glucosidic linkage as a major feature, are present in most higher plants and many lower plants and microorganisms. They may occur as major structural or storage components or be formed at very specific sites in response to particular developmental events or stimuli. In many cases their functional role is a mystery, in others it is well established. Their distribution and physiological involvement indicates that they are important to fields such as agriculture and biotechnology, and may also have an impact in medicine, through their role in immunology and cancer therapy.

Despite of the efforts of pharmaceutical researchers to find new medicaments, nature offers many substances with healing properties—beta-glucans belong to this group of compounds. The second volume of the e-book series, Biology and Chemistry of Beta-Glucan, provides new knowledge about these important polysaccharides. In order to understand the role of beta-glucans, it is necessary to control the purity and to determine their composition and structure. This volume presents modern chemical and separation methods which are applied in structural analysis of glucans. As a result of structural analyses, it can be concluded that beta-glucans of different origin vary in chain length, number and types of branching. The book further discusses the biological effects of tailored oligomers and synthetic beta-glucans, including innovative use of enzymatic processes in the synthesis of these compounds. This volume also discusses a hypothesis of beta-glucans’ increasing impact on the photodynamic therapy. In spite of many scientific papers describing the positive role of beta-glucans in protection against diseases, certain epidemiological data suggest that specific illnesses can be related to beta-glucan exposure. The fact of whether or not beta-glucan is an accompanying substance of these biologically active agents is also questioned. Biology and Chemistry of Beta-Glucan: Volume 2 focuses on the strictly scientific basis on the effects of beta-glucan on human health as well as other possibilities of beta-glucan application, such as protection of aquaculture against diseases.

Despite of the efforts of pharmaceutical researchers to find new medicaments, nature offers many substances with healing properties-beta-glucans belong to this group of compounds. The second volume of the book series, Biology and Chemistry of Beta-Glucan, provides new knowledge about these important polysaccharides. In order to understand the role of beta-glucans, it is necessary to control the purity and to determine their composition and structure. This volume presents modern chemical and separation methods which are applied in structural analysis of glucans. As a result of structural analyses, it can be concluded that beta-glucans of different origin vary in chain length, number and types of branching. The book further discusses the biological effects of tailored oligomers and synthetic beta-glucans, including innovative use of enzymatic processes in the synthesis of these compounds. This volume also discusses a hypothesis of beta-glucans' increasing impact on the photodynamic therapy. In spite of many scientific papers describing the positive role of beta-glucans in protection against diseases, certain epidemiological data suggest that specific illnesses can be related to beta-glucan exposure. The fact of whether or not beta-glucan is an accompanying substance of these biologically active agents is also questioned. Biology and Chemistry of Beta-Glucan: Volume 2 focuses on the strictly scientific basis on the effects of beta-glucan on human health as well as other possibilities of beta-glucan application, such as protection of aquaculture against diseases.

This book illustrates, that the fungal cell wall is critical for the biology and ecology of all fungi and especially for human fungal pathogens. Readers will learn, that the composition of the fungal cell wall is a unique structure, which cannot be found in the human host. Consequently, the chapters outline, how the immune systems of both animals and humans have evolved to recognize conserved and unique elements of the fungal cell wall. As an application example, the authors also show, that the three-dimensional structures of the cell wall are excellent targets for the development of antifungal agents and chemotherapeutic strategies. With the combination of biological findings and medical outlooks, this volume is a fascinating read for scientists, clinicians and biomedical students.

Polysaccharides provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of the chemistry of polysaccharides. This book discusses the methods used for the isolation, purification, and structural determination of the various types of polysaccharide. Organized into 14 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the almost universal occurrence of natural macromolecules in living organisms where they form a variety of functions. This text then examines the isolation of polysaccharides, which involves solubilization in aqueous solvents or in dipolar aprotic solvents. Other chapters consider the industrial applications of polysaccharides and of their derivatives. This book discusses as well the procedure for the isolation of wood polysaccharides, which involves the preparation of a holocellulose by the selective solubilization of the lignin. The final chapter deals with the classes of complex natural polymers in which the nature of the linkage of sugar units to other structural units have been established. This book is a valuable resource for biologists.

This volume contains the presentations of the principal speakers at the NATO Advanced Study Institute held at Porto Portese, Italy,23 August - 2 September, 1982. This meeting was the third in a series devoted to the molecular biology of plants. The initial meeting was held in Strasbourg, France in 1976 (J. Weil and L. Bogorad, organizers), and the second in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1979 (C. Leaver, organizer). As in these previous meetings, we have attempted to cover the major topics of plant molecular biology so as to promote the integration of information emerging at an accelerating rate from the various sub-disciplines of the field. In addition, we have introduced several topics, unique to higher plants, that have not yet been approached with the tools of molec ular biology, but that should present new and important aspects of plants amenable to study in terms of DNA -+ RNA -+ Protein. This meeting also served to inaugerate the new International Society for Plant Molecular Biology. The need for this society is, like the NATO meetings themselves, an indication of the growth, vitalitv and momentum of this field of research.