About this Research Topic
The gastrointestinal (GI) system is responsible for the digestion and absorption of ingested food and liquids. Dietary polysaccharides have been reported to exhibit multiple pharmacological activities including protecting colonic gastrointestinal health, anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperglycemia. However, the exact cellular and molecular mechanisms of their gastrointestinal health-promoting effect are unclear.
This Research Topic aims to fill the gap between the knowledge on significant therapeutic gastrointestinal health-promoting effects of dietary polysaccharides and their underlying mechanisms of action. It also aims to accumulate new knowledge and methods for the discovery and development of novel therapeutic agents and adjuvants that exhibit potential gastrointestinal health-promoting properties. We welcome cellular, animal, and human studies on the gastrointestinal health-promoting effect of dietary polysaccharides (such as pectin, inulin, starch, dietary gum, chitosan, fucoidan, fucosylated glycosaminoglycan, glucan, glucomannan, heteropolysaccharides, etc.) from different natural sources (such as fruits and vegetables, cereal grains, fungi, algae, marine foods, herbs, etc.), including but not limited to:
· Naturally sourced dietary polysaccharides with gastrointestinal health-promoting effects, such as mushroom, plant, and marine organisms.
· Effects of dietary polysaccharides on the gastrointestinal tract and the brain-gut axis.
· Molecular mechanisms of microbial regulation of gastrointestinal function.
· Dietary fiber and prebiotics and the gastrointestinal microbiota.
This Research Topic aims to fill the gap between the knowledge on significant therapeutic gastrointestinal health-promoting effects of dietary polysaccharides and their underlying mechanisms of action. It also aims to accumulate new knowledge and methods for the discovery and development of novel therapeutic agents and adjuvants that exhibit potential gastrointestinal health-promoting properties. We welcome cellular, animal, and human studies on the gastrointestinal health-promoting effect of dietary polysaccharides (such as pectin, inulin, starch, dietary gum, chitosan, fucoidan, fucosylated glycosaminoglycan, glucan, glucomannan, heteropolysaccharides, etc.) from different natural sources (such as fruits and vegetables, cereal grains, fungi, algae, marine foods, herbs, etc.), including but not limited to:
· Naturally sourced dietary polysaccharides with gastrointestinal health-promoting effects, such as mushroom, plant, and marine organisms.
· Effects of dietary polysaccharides on the gastrointestinal tract and the brain-gut axis.
· Molecular mechanisms of microbial regulation of gastrointestinal function.
· Dietary fiber and prebiotics and the gastrointestinal microbiota.
Keywords: polysaccharides, dietary fiber, gastrointestinal tract, gut microbiota, molecular pathways
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