ABSTRACT
It is not over the top to say that science about polysaccharides is of paramount importance for the life of humankind on our planet. Topics include not only food and health issues, related to nutritional domain, but many other aspects are present being polysaccharides such as cellulose, starch, chitin, and many others constituting the most part of the biomass. Eventually, many disciplines are involved in the study of polysaccharides, and interdisciplinary cross-fertilization is seen as very benecial. Polysaccharides constitute a variety of biological polymers with diverse composition, structures, physical characteristics, and biological activity. They have been used in the food industry as thickeners and protective coatings; in cosmetics, textiles, and medicines, their uses are based on rheological, emulsifying, and stabilizing properties. More recently, in the eld of smart materials, interesting technological applications are emerging for polysaccharides like cellulose; in particular, the possible intelligent behaviors in reaction to environmental conditions (Qiu and Hu 2013) and very recently ecomaterials based on polysaccharides and food proteins, as possible replacement of synthetic polymers with specic applications, have been reviewed (Yihu and Qiang 2014).
