Functional components in Zizyphus with emphasis on polysaccharides

Abstract

Zizyphus jujuba (Chinese jujube), mainly distributed in the subtropical regions of Asia, has been cultivated for over 4,000 years and used as food, food additive, flavor, as well as traditional Chinese herb, as it possesses analeptic, palliative, and antibechic functions. The fruit of jujube is quite popular due to high nutritional value and presence of many functional components, in which polysaccharide is the most important one. Polysaccharides, being essential constituents of all living organisms, are naturally occurring polymers of aldoses and ketoses linked together through glycosidic linkages. In recent years, polysaccharides of plant origin have emerged as a vital class of bioactive nature products; however, there is a lack of information regarding analysis and biological activity of jujube polysaccharides. Moreover, the composition of polysaccharides in jujube may vary with different species, growth environment, cultivar variety, and extraction and separation methods, which in turn may affect the overall biological activity. The objective of this manuscript is to review the current status associated with jujube polysaccharide, including nutritional and functional components; methods of extraction, purification, separation, identification, and quantitation; as well as biological activity.