Structural Diversity and Application Potential of Hemicelluloses

Abstract Isolation and targeted modification of plant polysaccharides as well as characterization of their structural, molecular and functional properties represent an important research topic of the Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, in Bratislava. The presentation provides an overview about the occurrence, structural diversity and functional properties of hemicelluloses representing a diverse group of plant cell wall polysaccharides. They are grouped into xyloglycans, mannoglycans, xyloglucans, and mixed‐linkage β ‐glucans. Based on own results as well as on reported data from other research groups, the structure—property relations of the hemicelluloses as well as the existing and potential applications of these polysaccharides are discussed.