Sweet Biotechnology: Enzymatic Production and Digestibility Screening of Novel Kojibiose and Nigerose Analogues.

In view of the global pandemic of obesity and related metabolic diseases, there is an increased interest in alternative carbohydrates with promising physiochemical and health-related properties as a potential replacement for traditional sugars. However, our current knowledge is limited to only a small selection of carbohydrates, whereas the majority of alternative rare carbohydrates and especially their properties remain to be investigated. Unraveling their potential properties, like digestibility and glycemic content, could unlock their use in industrial applications. Here, we describe the enzymatic production and in vitro digestibility of three novel glycosides, namely, two kojibiose analogues (i.e., d-Glcp-α-1,2-d-Gal and d-Glcp-α-1,2-d-Rib) and one nigerose analogue (i.e., d-Glcp-α-1,3-l-Ara). These novel sugars were discovered after an intensive acceptor screening with a sucrose phosphorylase originating from Bifidobacterium adolescentis (BaSP). Optimization and upscaling of this process led to roughly 100 g of these disaccharides. Digestibility, absorption, and caloric potential were assessed using brush border enzymes of rat origin and human intestinal Caco-2 cells. The rare disaccharides showed a reduced digestibility and a limited impact on energy metabolism, which was structure-dependent and even more pronounced for the three novel disaccharides in comparison to their respective glucobioses, translating to a low-caloric potential for these novel rare disaccharides.

Synthesis, trehalase hydrolytic resistance and inhibition properties of 4- and 6-substituted trehalose derivatives.

Although trehalose has recently gained interest because of its pharmaceutical potential, its clinical use is hampered due to its low bioavailability. Hence, hydrolysis-resistant trehalose analogues retaining biological activity could be of interest. In this study, 34 4- and 6-O-substituted trehalose derivatives were synthesised using an ether- or carbamate-type linkage. Their hydrolysis susceptibility and inhibitory properties were determined against two trehalases, i.e. porcine kidney and Mycobacterium smegmatis. With the exception of three weakly hydrolysable 6-O-alkyl derivatives, the compounds generally showed to be completely resistant. Moreover, a number of derivatives was shown to be an inhibitor of one or both of these trehalases. For the strongest inhibitors of porcine kidney trehalase IC50 values of around 10 mM could be determined, whereas several compounds displayed sub-mM IC50 against M. smegmatis trehalase. Dockings studies were performed to explain the observed influence of the substitution pattern on the inhibitory activity towards porcine kidney trehalase.

Rational design of an improved transglucosylase for production of the rare sugar nigerose.

The sucrose phosphorylase from Bifidobacterium adolescentis (BaSP) can be used as a transglucosylase for the production of rare sugars. We designed variants of BaSP for the efficient synthesis of nigerose from sucrose and glucose, thereby adding to the inventory of rare sugars that can conveniently be produced from bulk sugars.

Chemoenzymatic Approach toward the Synthesis of 3-O-(α/ß)-Glucosylated 3-Hydroxy-ß-lactams.

Glycosylation significantly alters the biological and physicochemical properties of small molecules. ß-Lactam alcohols comprise eligible substrates for such a transformation based on their distinct relevance in the chemical and medicinal community. In this framework, the unprecedented enzymatic glycosylation of the rigid and highly strained four-membered ß-lactam azaheterocycle was studied. For this purpose, cis-3-hydroxy-ß-lactams were efficiently prepared in three steps by means of a classical organic synthesis approach, while a biocatalytic step was implemented for the selective formation of the corresponding 3-O-α- and -ß-glucosides, hence overcoming the complexities typically encountered in synthetic glycochemistry and contributing to the increasing demand for sustainable processes in the framework of green chemistry. Two carbohydrate-active enzymes were selected based on their broad acceptor specificity and subsequently applied for the α- or ß-selective formation of ß-lactam-sugar adducts, using sucrose as a glucosyl donor.