Interesting,
@Vegas. We are discussing in a few other threads how to increase NADPH, and from what I can glean from your post above, this would include structural polysaccharides? So xylan would be a good choice here, can you name others? How can I tell which prebiotics would be included in this group, versus the starch based group? Thanks.
Well we have pectin, gum, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Cellulose is a polymer of b-1,4 linked glucose. That beta 1-4 linkage is important insofar as it is tougher to chemically severe (hydrolysis). This and other structural features make it "resistant."
Hemicelluloses are very diverse and consist of polymers of quite a number of different sugars, most notably galactose, xylose, mannose, rhamnose, & arabinose. Of course these structural or non-starch polysaccharides comprise a very large number of potential prebiotics as there are are countless combinations of these, like arabinogalactan, galactoglucomannan, and glucoxylan. Then there are also numerous other variables, like anomerization, side-chain configurations, molecular-weight, etc. that influences the properties these carbohydrates may have on the host immune response.
The combination of polysaccharides conveys different properties and obviously different symptomatic responses, based upon what we have observed anecdotally. This is likely, in large part, a feature of the host's microbiota, which, like ME/CFS is largely resistant to change. Reishi mushrooms, for example, may produce a radically different effect than that of Turkey Tail based upon the predominant polysaccharide compositions, not to mention a host of other properties inherent in the plant. Additionally, even single plant species can have variability, and these properties are further modified by bacterial enzymes, which modulates the effects of these various complex carbohydrates on the host.
In this way, there has to be a concerted effort among host and microbe. The fact that hydrolysis is predicated on availability of ATP absolutely implies that human degradation of carbohydrates is diminshed as ones capacity to produce energy and a robust immune response is also diminished. The immune response is largely a feature of the ability to limit reactive oxygen species. Plant compounds are simultaneously anti-oxidants and immunostimulants, and anti-inflammatories, but often result in net increases in inflammation and oxidation.
The study of the human intestinal microbiome, and, in particular their enzymatic capacity has now demonstrated that many of these microbial organisms participate in the host's (human) creation of energy. The capacity and characteristics of microbial carbohydrate enzyme degradation is a feature of a healthy microbiome and one's immune fitness. I think this is one of the less popularized recent discoveries that deserves more attention.
The NSP (non-starch-polysaccharides) have special immunomodulating capacity because many of these cellulose materials fully escape all human digestion. Humans have a total of less than 20 enzymes able to degrade carbohydrates. Some single bacterial species have 250+. When we look closer though, we can see that there are some very preserved microbial features that relate to carbohydrate utilization that are universal in humans, but limited to a relatively select group of organisms.
So hemicellulose is, in my estimation, a places where, if you wanted to shut down the immune response and energy biosynthesis, one would look.
"The prevalence of XyGs in the human diet suggests that the mechanism by which bacteria degrade these complex polysaccharides is highly important to human energy acquisition."
(XyG is xyloglucan, a hemicellulose)
Among the bacterial glycoside hydrolase enzymes, in my view a singular family stands out. This is an enzyme group that breaks down cellulose and has a feature-set commonly possessed by Bacteroides and Streptomyces. I think that importance of these organisms is that both play major roles in (glyco)sphingolipid biosynthesis, which likely mitigates the effects of endotoxins. Additionally, the antimicrobial properties of streptomyces likely suggests that it's niche role has to be accompanied by a strategy to mitigate the free radical consequences of displacing microbes. In other words, if your killing bacteria and fungi in the gut, you better protect the host.
Soil bacteria and fungi that degrade the cell walls of plants definitely intersect here insofar as these are the primary inhabitants of this niche. Streptomyces is a SBO, but so are all of these anerobes. They are also an essential part of the nitrogen cycle, which shines a light squarely on organisms that populate the rhizobiome. Algal sources are bundled with many of these same plant fibers, so cellulolytic organisms can feast on this stuff.
I believe cellobiose and xyloglucan oligosaccharides are likely to be the most immunostimulating of all prebiotics, but not suited for general consumption. I'm still trying to find that mix that fufills the metabolic/immunomodulatory roles that is most "anti-inflammatory," I expect there will be some degree of transferability despite obvious individual variability.
the gall bladder a holding tank for fungi. After treating fungi, she detoxed black mucus.
