Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre

Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre is intended to be an international journal focused on dietary fibre, and bioactive carbohydrates (including bioactive polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and glycoproteins. It will include original studies and comprehensive reviews on the primary structure, molecular characteristics including conformation, size and shape, and bioactivities demonstrated by studies using in vitro, cell culture, animal and human clinical trials for understanding the action mechanisms and efficacy of bioactive carbohydrates from plants, fungi, animals and produced by biotechnology.

Specific bioactivities such as reducing serum cholesterol, modulating blood glucose and insulin levels, fermentability in the gastrointestinal track, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, immune regulatory and anti-oxidant activities demonstrated by these bioactive carbohydrates are the main focus of this journal. It also covers the areas of interaction of dietary fibres, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides and glycoproteins with food matrices which may enhance or alter their efficacy, shelf-life stability of the bioactivities.

Papers will cover such issues as:
• Structural characterization of bioactive polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and glycoproteins
• Conformation and molecular characteristics of bioactive polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and glycoproteins
• Bioactivities of polysaccharides including: anti-cancer, immune modulation, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant etc
• New anti-cancer polysaccharides from herbs
• Recent advances in bioactive polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and glycoproteins
• Analysis and physicochemical characterization of soluble and insoluble dietary fibre
• Effects of dietary fibre on post-prandial blood glucose and/or insulin levels
• Effect of dietary fibre on blood total and/or LDL cholesterol levels;
• Effects of dietary fibre on gut function and ecology of microflora
• Role of a diet rich in soluble fibre in reducing body weight
• Development of dietary fibre industry
• Animal and clinical trial studies
• Updates on regulatory changes and legal constraints on nutritional dietary fibre and other food hydrocolloids

The subject borders on medicine but is not a medical subject. The common factor for published papers is “bioactivity” and it's influence on health. Origin, husbanding, extraction, characterization, purification, cell culture, animal and clinical trials leading towards a medical or food supplemental applications will be considered. To be considered for this journal the research needs to cross-over from chemistry/biochemistry into biological investigation, with opportunities too for those who work on immune systems to contribute.

Types of contribution:
• Original research papers (full papers and short communications)
• Invited reviews
• Opinion pieces
• Perspective commentaries.