Resíduo da carcinicultura como fonte para obtenção de glicosaminoglicanos com potenciais biotecnológicos

Abstract

Over millions of years of evolution, an extensive variety of species has developed around the world and, among them, marine species are constituted by a great molecular abundance. Aquatic species are composed of highly diversified biomolecules with peculiar structural and functional properties. Among these animals, the shrimp have been a source of these biomolecules with a sustainable bias due to their residual reuse. In 2019, the world shrimp farming census reached the mark of 4 million tons. Since it is a large production, eventually the wastes can be improperly disposed on the environment, making it essential to create reuseble measures. These organic by-products can be sources of molecules such as chitin, chitosan, carotenoid and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). In this context, the current review seeks to report the finds about the structural characteristics and biological properties of GAGs obtained from shrimp residues. Most of the GAGs are sulfated polysaccharides consisting of a hexosamine residue and an uronic acid. They are widely distributed on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix. From the head of the Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp, the structure of four GAGs were isolated and characterized, as follows: a heparin-like compound, a hybrid with characteristics of heparin and heparam sulfate and two populations of chondroitin sulfate. Overall, the results showed that these GAGs have anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. These studies reinforced the idea that anticoagulant activity of some GAG-like compounds is associated with their ability to stabilize antithrombin and, consequently, inhibit thrombin. This coagulation protease plays a central role as an intercessor molecule within inflammation and coagulation, as well as being associated with the frequent activation of mechanisms in tumorigenesis. The structural peculiarities of the shrimp’s GAGs are remarkable and can suit as a model to expand the knowledge about the relationship between structure and function. It is possible that their structural diversity is a reflection of adaptive processes that the shrimps might have developed to different environmental conditions, which make them a promising source of molecules with biotechnological potential..