Inhibitory effect of phosphorylated oligosaccharides prepared from potato starch on the formation of calcium...

The inhibitory effect of phosphorylated oligosaccharides, which were prepared from potato starch, on the formation of calcium phosphate in vitro were investigated. Phosphorylated oligosaccharides from potato were fractionated by ion-exchange chromatography into two fractions, PO-1 and PO-2. Fraction PO-1 was composed of maltotriose, maltotetraose, and maltopentaose to which one phosphate group was attached. Fraction PO-2 was predominantly composed of maltopentaose and maltohexaose to which at least two phosphate groups were attached. The average degree of polymerization of dephosphorylated PO-1 and PO-2 was evaluated to be 4.02 and 5.82, respectively. Fraction PO-2 was the main component having an inhibitory effect on calcium phosphate formation. In addition, among the phosphorylated monosaccharides, glucose-1,6-diphosphate and fructose-1,6-diphosphate were more effective inhibitors of the formation of calcium phosphate than glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate. These results suggest that the strength of the inhibitory effect might depend on the number of phosphate groups attached to each sugar molecule.