Degradation of algal (Ascophyllum nodosum) fucoidan by an enzymatic activity contained in digestive glands of the marine mollusc Pecten maximus

A protein extract from digestive glands of the marine mollusc Pecten maximu s was shown to possess fucoidan-degrading activity. This activity was able to release L-fucose from fucoidan derived from the brown algae Ascophullum nodosum, and markedly reduce the molecular size of the polysaccharide. An e nzymatically degraded fucoidan was produced and analysed by NMR spectroscop y. The 2D H-1 NMR data obtained for the first time on low-molecular-weight fractions of algal fucoidan provided new insight into the structure of the polysaccharide. The latter has a randomly organised structure, involving (1 --> 3)- and (1 --> 4)-linked unsulfated and 2-sulfated-alpha-L-fucose resi dues. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.