Alterations in the structural properties of polysaccharides in garlic yellow seeds before and after germination and their mechanism for alleviating colitis.

Garlic yellow are cultivated from bulbs under dark conditions, with cloves as natural seeds. This study explored the structural properties of differences between pre-germination garlic polysaccharides (GP) and post-germination garlic sprout polysaccharides (GSP) from garlic yellow and evaluated their effects on DSS-induced colitis mice. The results indicate germination induced glycosidic bond cleavage in GP, generating shorter chains and low-molecular-weight GSP with altered crystallinity and solubility. Both GP and GSP alleviated colitis by protecting the gut barrier, inhibiting the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway, and modulating inflammatory factors. Notably, GSP effectively elevated IL-10 levels and modulated the gut microbiota by reducing Escherichia-Shigella and increasing Akkermansia, demonstrating an advantage in anti-inflammatory mechanism compared with GP. Overall, we first evaluated the effects of germination on the functional properties of polysaccharides in garlic yellow seeds. Moreover, seeds remaining after garlic yellow mature, though considered waste products, seed-derived polysaccharide is effective in relieving colitis and shows promising applications.