Maltotetraose is a tetrasaccharide that is composed of glucose molecules linked by α-1,4 glycosidic bonds and has been found in B. stearothermophilus.1,2,3,4 It increases the α-amylase synthesis rate in B. stearothermophilus 3-fold greater than sucrose or glucose when used at a concentration of 0.1 mM.2 Maltotetraose (750 μg/ml) inhibits the growth of E. carotovora in a cylinder-agar plate assay but does not affect the growth of several other microorganisms.4 It also inhibits TNF-α-induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in MOVAS-1 mouse smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) transfected with an ICAM-1 luciferase reporter when used at a concentration of 20 μM.5
1.Sauer, J., Sigurskjold, B.W., Christensen, U., et al.Glucoamylase: Structure/function relationships, and protein engineeringBiochim. Biophys. Acta1543(2)275-293(2000) 2.Welker, N.E., and Campbell, L.L.Induction of α-amylase of Bacillus stearothermophilus by maltodextrinsJ. Bacteriol.86(4)687-691(1963) 3.Fujita, M., Torigoe, K., Nakada, T., et al.Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene (amyP) for maltotetraose-forming amylase from Pseudomonas stutzeri MO-19J. Bacteriol.171(3)1333-1339(1989) 4.Kondo, H., Honke, T., Hasegawa, R., et al.Isolation of maltotetraose from Streptomyces as an antibiotic against Erwinia carotovoraJ. Antibiot. (Tokyo)28(2)157-160(1975) 5.Shin, S.Y., Jung, Y.J., Yong, Y., et al.Inhibition of PDGF-induced migration and TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 expression by maltotetraose from bamboo stem extract (BSE) in mouse vascular smooth muscle cellsMol. Nutr. Food Res.60(9)2086-2097(2016)