Biological and Functional Properties of Possible Prebiotic Properties of Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) from Probiotics

Nowadays, cancer is one of the most important health problems and is one of the diseases that causes the most deaths in the world. Existing anti-cancer drugs used in cancer treatment show toxicity dose dependent manner and cause strong side effects (infection, hair loss, fatigue, lip sores, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and bloody feces). Therefore, there is a need to develop anti-cancer agents that are effective and less toxic in the cancer treatment. Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) obtained from safe and natural sources, such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB), are thought to be a good alternative to synthetic anti-cancer agents. The usefulness of the various EPSs is due to the fact that the EPS is dependent on the monosaccharide composition, the ties of the bonds, the branching degrees and the molecular weight, this review contains information on the structure and biological activity of EPSs and the mechanism of anti-cancer action of EPSs