Levan Exerts Health Benefit Effect through Alteration in Bifidobacteria Population.

Background: Recently, exploring novel dietary nondigestible carbohydrates, which are able to influence the gut flora, has drawn much attention. The objective of this study was to find out the effective dose of levan, as a prebiotic, in rats in order to further apply in food industry.

Methods: Levan at various doses (2-10%) was orally administered to male Wistar Albino rats once a day for 90 days.

From healing wounds to resorbable electronics, levan can fill bioadhesive roles in scores of markets.

Levan is a fructose homopolysaccharide which gained attention recently for its unusual combination of properties distinguishing it from other natural biodegradable polysaccharides like chitosan, cellulose or starch. Among the strongest bioadhesives, film-forming levan is garnering interest for its role in some simple solutions to difficult problems. One of these is illustrated by the elegant research using laser-based techniques to construct levan films for healing wounds and burned tissue.

Formation of new, cytocompatible hydrogels based on photochemically crosslinkable levan methacrylates.

Levan is a high molecular weight fructose-based biotechnologically available polysaccharide with a range of interesting properties qualifying this molecule for applications in biomedicine. In this study, new levan derivatives containing methacrylate groups attached either via ester or urethane linkages to the fructan backbone could be synthesized and structurally characterized by conventional analytical techniques. The photochemical crosslinking of these substances applying different photoinitiator systems and reaction conditions resulted in hydrogels of diverse properties which were investigated with regard to mechanical behaviour, hydrolytic degradability, and cytocompatibility.

Review of Levan polysaccharide: From a century of past experiences to future prospects.

Levan is a fascinating β-(2,6)-linked fructose polymer with an unusual combination of properties characterized in this review. In nature, levan is synthesized from sucrose by a wide range of microorganisms and a few plant species. Bacterial levans often have molecular weights over 500,000Da, are commonly branched, and form compact nanospheres offering a broad spectrum of applications.