ABSTRACT
Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are polymer produced and secreted by several groups of microorganisms into the culture medium for certain physiological purposes. Due to diversification in their structure, repeating units, linkages, molecular weight, and linked functional groups, EPS exhibits many valuable rheological characteristics as well as bioactive properties. Microbial EPS are high potential for application in different sectors such as in the medical and pharmaceutical industry, wastewater treatment, material science, and especially in the food industry. In this book chapter, the literature about microbial EPS, including physiological functions, classification, and biosynthesis conditions will be firstly overviewed. The characteristic of different well-known microbial EPSs including commercial ones as well as their applications in the food industry will be then reviewed. In addition, the chapter provides overviews on EPS produced by several generally recognized as safe (GRAS) microorganisms such as Bacillus and lactic acid bacteria, and from medical mushrooms which are currently receiving great attention for industrial application.
