The Extraction, Functionalities and Applications of Plant Polysaccharides in Fermented Foods

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Since obtaining pure polysaccharides with a single approach is inefficient, combining techniques is necessary to maintain the yield, consistency, chemical structure, and biological activity of polysaccharides. Moreover, it is essential to produce high-purity polysaccharides on a wide scale to satisfy the requirements as processed food ingredients or additives while maintaining their structural stabilities and bioactivities. The next consideration is meat products, which accentuate the negative features of saturated fat, excessive salt, chemicals, and lack of fiber in consumer diets. Therefore, adding polysaccharides and probiotic strains to fermented meat products has proven beneficial. More research is required on using plant polysaccharides (prebiotics) in meat products to improve nutritional qualities due to their potential effects and no side effects on human health. Innovative formulations with increased polysaccharides and probiotics and lower salt, nitrite/nitrate, or cholesterol content may enhance meat product technology and result in more nutritional fermented meat products. Furthermore, people nowadays are increasingly interested in consuming nutritious foods that can improve their lives. Another area of interest for future research of plant polysaccharides is determining their synbiotic advantages with probiotics in producing biological components such as vitamins (folate), enzymes (β-glycosidase), and other compounds in fermented dairy and non-dairy products. For example, more than 60 countries have adopted mandatory folic acid fortification programs, which are chemically synthesized, and high doses of folic acid intake were associated with several adverse effects, including hiding symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency and the possibility of colon cancer. Natural folate production by combining polysaccharides and lactic acid bacteria in fermented milk is a promising approach to increase folates content in foods. In a word, given the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, functional foods containing plant polysaccharides are the most unique approach to preventive or complementary therapies. In this review, we found few studies on the therapeutic effects of plant polysaccharides in fermented foods. Therefore, additional clinical trials are needed to evaluate whether the benefits of these foods will be sustained in longer-term treatments.

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