ReviewNPJ science of food2026
Polysaccharides and the colon mucus barrier: a review of biophysical interactions and functional impacts.
Review in NPJ science of food, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Edible Fungal Polysaccharide-Liposome: Interfacial Interactions, Structure-Function Relationship, and Emerging Application in Oral Delivery and Functional Foods.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Strong mucosal adhesion enhances the anti-infective effectiveness of T4-like phages.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Multifractal Model for Oromucosal Polymeric Film Performance.Pharmaceutics · 2026Article
- Anthocyanins as Adjunctive Dietary Modulators of the Gut-Eye Axis: Bioavailability, Biotransformation, and Implications for Ocular Health.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Gastrointestinal Tract Remodeling by Dietary Polysaccharides Mechanistic Insights in Colitis-A Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Domestication of a WildJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Polysaccharides are structurally diverse biopolymers that interact intimately with the colonic mucus barrier, modulating its physicochemical properties and biological functions. This review explores direct and indirect interactions between polysaccharides and colonic mucus that collectively shape mucus rheology, penetrability, and barrier function. After brief, separate descriptions of colonic mucus (bilayered architecture and goblet cell-driven secretion) and polysaccharide structural classes (e.g., charge, molecular weight, branching, and substitution patterns), we dissect the molecular and biophysical mechanisms governing polysaccharide-mucus interactions-including electrostatic and hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic association, and steric or depletion effects-and integrate evidence from in vitro, ex vivo, in vivo, organoid, and gut-on-a-chip models. Functional consequences for mucin secretion and degradation, mucus viscosity and structure, barrier integrity, and epithelial and immune signalling are critically evaluated, with particular focus on protection against oxidative stress-induced mucosal dysfunction. By linking specific physicochemical features of polysaccharides to their behaviour within the mucus barrier, we outline design principles for improving gastrointestinal health, optimising mucosal drug delivery, and guiding the development of next-generation polysaccharide-based therapeutics.
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.