Structure and solution properties of enzymatically synthesized glycogen
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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Biochemical Titration of Glycogen In vitro
Published on: November 24, 2013
Hideki Kajiura1, Hiroki Takata, Takashi Kuriki
1Development Department, Food Material Division, Glico Foods Co. Ltd, 7-16 Kasuga-cho, Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan. kajiura-hideki@gf.glico.co.jp
Abstract:
Recently, a new enzymatic process for glycogen production was developed. In this process, short-chain amylose is used as a substrate for branching enzymes (BE, EC 2.4.1.18). The molecular weight of the enzymatically synthesized glycogen (ESG) depends on the size and concentration of the substrate. Structural and physicochemical properties of ESG were compared to those of natural source glycogen (NSG). The average chain length, interior chain length, and exterior chain length of ESG were 8.2-11.6, 2.0-3.3, and 4.2-7.6, respectively. These values were within the range of variation of NSG. The appearances of both ESG and NSG in solution were opalescent (milky white and slightly bluish). Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy showed that ESG molecules formed spherical particles, and that there were no differences between ESG and NSG. Viscometric analyses also showed the spherical nature of both glycogens. When ESG and NSG were treated with pullulanase, a glucan-hydrolyzing enzyme known to degrade glycogen only on its surface portion, both glycogens were similarly degraded. These analyses revealed that ESG shares similar molecular shapes and surface properties with NSG.
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