Experimental and theoretical investigation on interactions between xylose-containing hemicelluloses and procyanidins
Résumé
During processing of plant-based foods, cell wall polysaccharides and polyphenols, such as procyanidins, interact
extensively, thereby affecting their physicochemical properties along with their potential health effects.
Although hemicelluloses are second only to pectins in affinity for procyanidins in cell walls, a detailed study of
their interactions lacks. We investigated the interactions between representative xylose-containing water-soluble
hemicelluloses and procyanidins. Turbidity, ITC and DLS were used to determine the relative affinities, and
theoretical calculations further ascertained the interactions mechanisms. Xyloglucan and xylan exhibited
respectively the strongest and weakest interactions with procyanidins. The different arabinoxylans interacted
with procyanidins in a similar strength, intermediate between xyloglucans and xylans. Therefore, the strength of
the interaction depended on the structure itself rather than on some incidental properties, e.g., viscosity and
molar mass. The arabinose side-chain of arabinoxylan did not inhibit interactions. The computational investi-
gation corroborated the experimental results in that the region of interaction between xyloglucan and procya-
nidins was significantly wider than that of other hemicelluloses.