Galactomannan is a polysaccharide consisting of a mannose backbone with galactose side groups
August 20 2017

Research with galactomannan as a useful ingredient in medicine is limited.

Frutarom announces a new satiety and obesity study using its FenuLife galactomannan ingredient and published in the journal Phytotherapy Research in 2009 has yielded positive results. The single-blind, crossover study, by Mathern, et. al. and performed at the University of Minnesota, tested the effect of 4 g or 8 g of FenuLife galactomannan versus placebo in 18 obese subjects. Following dosage of FenuLife or placebo in a beverage alongside a standardized breakfast, every 30 minutes for 3.5 hours subjects rated their feelings of hunger, satiety, fullness and prospective food consumption using visual analog scales (VAS). Samples of blood for analysis of blood glucose and insulin response also were taken. Subjects were then given an unlimited lunch buffet and recorded food intake for the rest of the day. An increase was shown in measurements of satiety and fullness, with reduced ratings of hunger and prospective food consumption at 8 g. In addition, this dosage showed a trend towards reduced caloric intake at lunch. The researchers concluded that 8 g dosage may have short-term beneficial effects in obese subjects. "FenuLife can be an effective ingredient in weight management formulations," says Jocelyn Mathern, R.D., the study's principal investigator and now the Technical Manager for Frutarom Health USA. FenuLife is a naturally sourced, galactomannan ingredient manufactured from deodorized fenugreek and contains more than 75% soluble fiber. FenuLife resists enzymatic degradation in the digestive system, maintaining its therapeutic properties.

Clin Cancer Research. 2014. A short treatment with galactomannan GM-CT-01 corrects the functions of freshly isolated human tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Several galectins are released by tumor cells and macrophages and accumulate in the tumor microenvironment. Galectin-1 and -3 were found to bind to glycosylated receptors at the surface of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), forming glycoprotein-galectin lattices that could reduce the motility and therefore the functionality of surface molecules. In contrast to blood T cells, human TIL show defective IFN-γ secretion upon ex vivo stimulation. We have previously shown that extracellular galectin-3 participates in the impairment of TIL functions. Indeed, disruption of glycoprotein-galectin-3 lattices using anti-galectin-3 antibodies, or N-acetyllactosamine as a competing sugar, boosted cytokine secretion by TIL. Here we have tested a clinical grade galectin antagonist: GM-CT-01, a galactomannan obtained from guar gum reported to be safe in more than 50 cancer patients. TIL were isolated from human tumor ascites, treated for 2-20 h with galectin antagonists and tested for function. We found that GM-CT-01 boosts cytotoxicity of CD8+ TIL and their IFN-γ secretion in a dose-dependent manner. Treating TIL obtained from patients with various cancers, during a few hours, resulted in an increased IFN-γ secretion in up to 80% of the samples. These observations pave the way for investigating the potential benefit of this galectin antagonist in cancer patients, alone or combined with cancer vaccination, in order to correct in vivo impaired functions of TIL.

Carbohydrate Polym. 2014. Macromolecular and functional properties of galactomannan from mesquite seed (Prosopis glandulosa). In this work, galactomannans from Prosopis glandulosa seeds were evaluated for their chemical composition and functional properties for potential industrial applications. In addition, those characteristics were compared with the commercial galactomannan guar gum. Mannose and galactose were the two most abundant carbohydrates present in P. glandulosa seeds, which represent 95% of total carbohydrates present in this material. Galactomannans from mesquite seed (GMS) yield was 16% and presented a M/G ratio of 2:1, which was higher than value observed for guar gum (1.6:1). The results obtained from functional properties showed that GMS has considerable potential to be considered as a food additive.