ABSTRACT
Oligosaccharide fragments derived from chitin and chitosan exhibit various biological activities, as described in Parts IV and VII. These useful oligosaccharides have been obtained by acid or enzymatic hydrolysis of chitin and chitosan followed by chromatographic separation. Since more controlled hydrolysis of the polysaccharide was found to be possible using chitin/chitosan degrading enzymes (so-called chitinases and chitosanases), the enzymes have been used for efcient oligosaccharide production (Aiba 1994, Lopatin et al. 1995, Cheng and Li 2000, Yoon et al. 2002, Woo and Park 2003, Choi et al. 2004). The enzymes have also attracted public attention because of their capabilities in biological control. Plant chitinases are implicated in host defense against fungal pathogens (Kasprzewska 2003), and insect chitinases are possible targets for pest control
23.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 295 23.2 Chitin Oligosaccharides ........................................................................................................296
