Mannan

Mannans are polysaccharides that occur as accompanying substances of cellulose (hemicelluloses) in plants (homoglycans). Mannans are made up of β-1,4-glycosidically linked mannose units (mannose). Examples are galactomannans, hexosans. Mannan is widely distributed in various plant tissues.

Mannans are also used in the cosmetics industry. It is usually obtained from the tubers of the Konjac plant (Amorphophallus Konjac), which is native to Japan and China. Mannans are also used as a base for gels in skin and hair care. They give them a creamy consistency. It also has a slightly film-forming and therefore moisture-binding effect. Mannans are very well tolerated and are therefore suitable for products for sensitive skin.

Mannans are renewable bioresources that are widely distributed as components of lignocellulosic biomass in coniferous wood and agricultural waste, as non-starch reserve polysaccharides in endosperm and vacuoles of a variety of plants and as a major component of yeast cell walls. The enzymatic hydrolysis of mannans using mannanases is an essential pretreatment step in the production of second-generation biofuels and for the production of potentially health-promoting manno-oligosaccharides (MOS). Beta-mannanase is the main mannan-degrading enzyme that endoactively breaks down the β-1,4-linked mannoside bonds into mannans. Microorganisms are a valuable source of beta-mannanase, which exhibits catalytic activity in a wide pH and temperature range, making it highly versatile and applicable in pharmaceuticals, animal feed, paper processing, biorefinery and other industries (Wang P et al. 2024).

In addition, mannan-degrading enzymes can be used in various biotechnological applications, such as in the cleaning and food industries.

1. Wang P et al. (2024) Research and application progress of microbial β-mannanases: a mini-review. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 40:169.
2. Yamabhai M et al. (2016) Mannan biotechnology: from biofuels to health. Crit Rev Biotechnol 36:32-42.