Characterization and biological evaluation of crataegus azarolus fruit polysaccharides

The polysaccharide obtained from Crataegus azarolus fruit, by water extraction followed by ethanol precipitation and fractionation using copper complex, shows physiological activities: prebiotic and antioxidant. The total acid hydrolysis shows that the polysaccharide consists of galactose, glucose, mannose and rhamnose. The employed physico-chemical techniques of the polysaccharide sequences approach (FT-IR, MALDI-TOF-MS spectrometry, 1H and 13C NMR) indicate that it is a Galactoglucomannan, the main chain consists of major amounts of ?-(1?4)-linked glucose and mannose residues with monosaccharide branches of ?-(1?6) galactose and O-acetyl substituents. The properties of this new glucomannan suggest that it could find an application as a prebiotic in the food industry.