What is glycobiology?

Defined in the narrowest sense, glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of saccharides (sugar chains or glycans) that are widely distributed in nature.

 

society for glycobiology education resource


Knowledge of Glycobiology can improve your health:

Glycosylation

glycosylation means enzymatic attachment of saccharides onto proteins, and glycation refers to exclusively non-enzymatic protein modification.

Glycosylation is an important biological process that serves a number of key functions. These include, but are not limited to, proper protein folding, increased protein stability, and overall diversification of the proteome. It's a carefully regulated and essential process.

 It has been shown that the long-term products of glycation, so called advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), accumulate in tissues of living organisms with age.The older we get, the more of these AGEs we seem to accumulate on our long-lived proteins, such as collagen and lens crystallins. This accumulation is irreversible and appears to be detrimental: AGE-containing proteins do not fold/function properly, are not properly recycled, and may cause a number of disease conditions associated with old age.

Mannatech and glyconutrients

Against this backdrop of rigorous scientific research, an industry has emerged for the sale of certain plant extracts that have been referred to as “glyconutrients.” The most financially successful of these ventures is Mannatech, an international company based in Texas. A lawsuit filed last year by the Texas Attorney General accuses Mannatech (and affiliated organizations) of using “… false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices …” to “… sell [glyconutrients] as a way to cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent diseases, illnesses or serious conditions, despite [their] admission that the products do not cure any disease, and despite the fact that this marketing violates both federal and state food and drug laws.” People desperate for medical breakthroughs have spent billions of dollars to purchase plant polysaccharides whose medical value has not been subjected to FDA-approved clinical trials, or, in some instances, whose medical value has been disproved.

A Glyconutrient sham