Galactan

Galactan
Names
Other names
D-Galactan; Galactosan
Identifiers
ChEBI
KEGG
Properties
(C6H10O5)n
Molar mass Variable
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).


Galactan (galactosan) is a polysaccharide consisting of polymerized galactose.[1] In general, galactans in natural sources contain a core of galactose units connected by α(1→3) or α(1→6), with structures containing other monosaccharides as side-chains.[2]

Galactan derived from Anogeissus latifolia is primarily α(1→6), but galactan from acacia trees is primarily α(1→3).[3]

Halymenia durvillei is a red seaweed (algae) that produces a sulfated galactan.[4] Several other algae species also contain galactans.[5] Including Carpopeltis F.Schmitz, 1895.[6]

Galactan is found in the side chains of rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) and is needed for gel formation in the cell walls of organisms.[7] It was observed there was less of the gelling characteristic (as well as the polymeric chains being more likely to degrade) when fewer galactans were present in the polymeric side chains. [7][8]

  1. ^ Galactans at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
  2. ^ Zanetti, Maurizio; Capra, Donald J. (2003-09-02). The Antibodies. CRC Press. p. 78. ISBN 9780203216514.
  3. ^ Zanetti, Maurizio (1995). The antibodies. Luxembourg: Harwood Academic Publishers. p. 78. ISBN 0-415-28466-X.
  4. ^ Fenoradosoa, T. A.; Delattre, C.; Laroche, C.; Wadouachi, A.; Dulong, V.; Picton, L.; Andriamadio, P.; Michaud, P. (1 August 2009). "Highly sulphated galactan from Halymenia durvillei (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta), a red seaweed of Madagascar marine coasts". Int J Biol Macromol. 45 (2): 140–5. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2009.04.015. PMID 19409410.
  5. ^ Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry Vol. 65 (2011), p. 168, at Google Books
  6. ^ I.J. Miller and J. Mollion, Evaluation of the structures of galactans from Carpopeltis sp. a member of the Halymeniales in the western Indian Ocean, Bot. Mar., 49 (2006) 79-85
  7. ^ a b Mikshina, Polina V.; Makshakova, Olga N.; Petrova, Anna A.; Gaifullina, Ilzira Z.; Idiyatullin, Bulat Z.; Gorshkova, Tatyana A.; Zuev, Yuriy F. (September 2017). "Gelation of rhamnogalacturonan I is based on galactan side chain interaction and does not involve chemical modifications". Carbohydrate Polymers. 171: 143–151. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.05.013. PMID 28578948.
  8. ^ Robal, Marju; Truus, Kalle; Volobujeva, Olga; Mellikov, Enn; Tuvikene, Rando (November 2017). "Thermal stability of red algal galactans: Effect of molecular structure and counterions". International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 104 (Pt A): 213–223. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2017.05.175. ISSN 0141-8130. PMID 28587967.