Emulsifying Properties of an Homologous Series of Medium- and Long-Chain <scp>d</scp>-Maltotriose Esters and their Impacts on the Viabilities of Selected Cell Lines

Abstract

The development of functional as well as nutritional surfactants for the food industry remains a matter of great interest. In the present study, a series of 6″-<i>O</i>-acylmaltotriose monoesters bearing alkyl side chains of 10-18 carbons was prepared by enzymatic means. The emulsions derived from those monoesters incorporating palmitoyl, stearoyl, and oleoyl side chains generally displayed advantageous shelf-lives, superior resistance to environmental variations, and more favorable droplet size distributions as well as stronger cytotoxic effects against various cancer cell lines. Ester <b>6</b> was shown to significantly inhibit the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells by inducing G1 phase arrest. Specifically, the levels of the G1 phase-related markers cyclin D1 and cyclin E as well as the cycle-dependent kinase 4 were suppressed by this particular ester. This study thus reveals that maltotriose esters can not only serve as novel functional food emulsifiers but also act, <i>in vitro</i>, as notable cytotoxic agents through a well-defined mechanism-of-action.