Spatial regulation of alpha-galactosidase activity and its influence on raffinose family oligosaccharides during seed maturation and germination in Cicer arietinum.

ABSTRACT: Alpha-galactosides or Raffinose Family Oligosaccharides (RFOs) are enriched in legumes and are considered as anti-nutritional factors responsible for inducing flatulence. Due to a lack of alpha-galactosidases in the stomachs of humans and other monogastric animals, these RFOs are not metabolized and are passed to the intestines to be processed by gut bacteria leading to distressing flatulence. In plants, alpha(α)-galactosides are involved in desiccation tolerance during seed maturation and act as a source of stored energy utilized by germinating seeds. The hydrolytic enzyme alpha-galactosidase (α-GAL) can break down RFOs into sucrose and galactose releasing the monosaccharide α-galactose back into the system. Through characterization of RFOs, sucrose, reducing sugars, and α-GAL activity in

SUBMITTER: Arunraj R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8570745 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature