Abstract

Antimicrobial compounds of plant origin (for example fucoidan, lignans, β-glucans, polyphenols), occurring in roots, leaves, flowers and fruits of plants, have demonstrated antitumor antioxidant, antibacterial or antifungal activities. The samples of collagen hydrogels or saccharide incorporated collagen hydrogels (for example, fucoidan from the bladderwrack or β-glucans from the oatmeal fibre) were examined. They were exposed to bacteria that can cause nosocomial infections, that is the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli. In electrophoretic analysis, the samples of oat, oatmeal, furoxin (dietary supplement), cranberry juice, reference β-glucan, baker's yeast, and the dried algae from Fucus vesiculosus L. were hydrolysed and monosaccharide derivatives were subjected to electrophoresis on a strip of cellulose acetate membrane. Good bacteriostatic properties were determined for samples of partially hydrolysed fucoidan against the pathogenic bacteria E. coli and S. aureus as well as Candida albicans. It was observed that partially hydrolysed fucoidan incorporated into collagen films can be used as therapeutically active biomaterials that speed up the process of wound healing and may increase the anticancer activity of fucoidan. The microbiological procedure of analysing hydrogels can serve as a kind of monitoring to find their antibacterial properties. Cellulose acetate electrophoresis is a useful method of analysing saccharide hydrolysates, solutions of collagen modifier.

Key words: Antimicrobial resistance, carbohydrates, glucan, collagen.