A Dilemma in the Glycosaminoglycan-Based Therapy: Synthetic or Naturally Unique Molecules?

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are widely explored in the biomedical market as functional ingredients in pharmaceutical or nutraceutical preparations. This extensive application of GAGs is justified by their multiple activities across several systems including, but not limited to, coagulation, thrombosis, inflammation, cancer, angiogenesis, cell differentiation, tissue repair, and microbial infections. Therapeutic GAGs are commonly extracted from mammalian tissues. Although functional in diverse systems, mammalian GAGs present serious downsides in therapy such as contamination risk from the mammalian tissues. In order to overcome some of the downsides, two new GAG sources have been appearing as alternatives to the mammalian-derived molecules. They are the synthetic GAGs and those extracted from nonmammalian origins such as invertebrate animals. This report overviews the general aspects of each GAG alternative and compares critically their pros and cons attributes in light of the prospects for the future of GAG-based therapy.