By: Richard D. Cummings
We usually think of polysaccharides as being relatively inert. However, dust explosions in grain elevators and in areas of high density of corn starch or polysaccharide powders occur frequently, as corn starch powder/dust is highly flammable (1). Such dust has tremendous surface area, and is easily and explosively ignited. One of the most notable disasters occurred in 1924 when 42 people died following a fire and explosion at the Corn Products Refining Company in Pekin, Illinois. https://www.wcbu.org/local-news/2024-01-04/pekin-commemorates-the-lives-lost-in-devastating-starch-dust-explosion-100-years-later. Just recently in 2023, in West Reading, Pennsylvania an explosion at a chocolate factory killed 7 people and injured many others, likely due to the explosive nature of highly flammable corn starch. https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-chocolate-factory-explosion-f54ef82d3032bb285a009a3252a62df5
But historically the most dangerous polysaccharide is guncotton, discovered accidentally by Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1845 (2,3). The Encyclopedia Britannica describes his discovery arising from when he used his kitchen for experimentation, and carelessly used his wife’s cotton apron to wipe up a spill of nitric and sulfuric acid. While drying near a stove the apron disintegrated with little smoke. This began his discovery of what he named ‘Schiessbaumwolle’ or guncotton, an esterified form of cellulose and nitric acid, a relatively smokeless form of explosive that is less messy to use than gunpowder. [About this same time period Ascanio Sobrero discovered nitroglycerin!] Another form of this polymer also developed by Schönbein is collodion, which became a key component of photographic emulsions, which revolutionized photography in the 1860s. And of course, nitrocellulose membrane/filters are used in many research laboratories to immobilize nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. These membranes should obviously be kept clear of heat, open flames, and sparks. Believe it or not, but both nitrocellulose and collodion are commonly used in cosmetics today (4).
And let’s not forget ‘popcorn’, which gets it pop from the expansion of a corn kernel that breaks suddenly through the hard cellulosic shell of the kernel at 180°C. The starch springs free and is ‘unwound’ in an instant!
But beside the explosive types of carbohydrates, one of the most dangerous carbohydrates to some people is the alpha-Gal antigen (Galα1-3Gal-R) (5). This terminal disaccharide is found in N- and O-glycans and in glycolipids. Humans, however, do not synthesize this αGal antigen, although it can be made by many other mammals and is a notable antigen in red meat products; notably, IgG/IgM antibodies may be generated to it upon exposure to products and/or organisms that express it (6,7). Interestingly, salivary glycoproteins in ticks, e.g., the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum), have this epitope, and tick bites can induce high levels of anti-αGal antibodies (8,9). This is associated with allergy to red meat (red meat allergy and also termed alpha-Gal syndrome), as porcine and bovine meat products contain this antigen. Fish and poultry products lack the αGal antigen. Individuals who have this response to red meat, which is reported to be found in up to 10% of patients diagnosed with idiopathic anaphylaxis, are advised to avoid eating red meat products. Interestingly, alpha-Gal occurs in glycomolecules expressed by several microbes, including Escherichia, Klebsiella, and Salmonella, some of which are found in the human gut microbiome (10).
It is well known that many plant glycoproteins are allergens, and these include peanut allergen glycoprotein Ara h 1. Ara h 1 is a 65-kd glycoprotein and is abundant in peanuts where it can make up 12-16% of the total protein in peanut extracts (11). This glycoprotein causes sensitization in up to 95% of patients with peanut allergy. Ara h 1 contains both conventional glycans, including oligomannose, and unusual xylosylated N-glycans, which can be bound by IgE, as well as glycated amino acids (12). Many plant glycoproteins contain a core xylose β1-2 linked to the core β-linked mannose, in addition to α1-3-linked fucose to the inner core GlcNAc of Asn-linked glycans (13). Such glycan modifications, however, are also found in insect and plant allergens, creating unusual cross-reactivities, and these are recognized by IgE (14).
Of course, one of the most toxic sugars is glucose itself, as its toxicity in chronic hyperglycemia is evidenced in patients with diabetes, where high circulating levels of glucose lead to many different pathological outcomes (15), especially on insulin generation, also accompanied by ‘glycation’ of proteins. This is a process in which glucose in its straight chain aldehydic form reacts with amine groups of lysine to create irreversible adducts, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) (16).
It seems very safe, however, to consume plant-based fibers, which are mainly polysaccharides of very complex carbohydrates, as found in grains, fruits, and vegetables, as it appears their consumption is associated with a healthy condition (17).
Also see https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15416-carbohydrates
References
1. Hu, H. C., Chang, C. H., Hsu, H. H., Chang, C. M., Huang, C. C., Chuang, S. S., and Kao, K. C. (2018) Inhalation injury caused by cornstarch dust explosion in intubated patients-A single center experience. Burns 44, 134-139
2. Weir, J. (1946) Nitroglycerine and guncotton, a double centenary. Nature 158, 83-85
3. Martin, R. S., and Colombi, A. (1992) Christian Friedrich Schonbein (1799-1868): from the perilous explosive guncotton to the salutary dialysis membranes. Am J Nephrol 12, 196-198
4. Fiume, M. M., Bergfeld, W. F., Belsito, D. V., Hill, R. A., Klaassen, C. D., Liebler, D. C., Marks, J. G., Jr., Shank, R. C., Slaga, T. J., Snyder, P. W., and Andersen, F. A. (2016) Safety Assessment of Nitrocellulose and Collodion as Used in Cosmetics. Int J Toxicol 35, 50S-59S
5. Galili, U. (2013) Anti-Gal: an abundant human natural antibody of multiple pathogeneses and clinical benefits. Immunology 140, 1-11
6. Steinke, J. W., Platts-Mills, T. A., and Commins, S. P. (2015) The alpha-gal story: lessons learned from connecting the dots. J Allergy Clin Immunol 135, 589-596; quiz 597
7. Galili, U. (2013) Discovery of the natural anti-Gal antibody and its past and future relevance to medicine. Xenotransplantation 20, 138-147
8. Karim, S., Leyva-Castillo, J. M., and Narasimhan, S. (2023) Tick salivary glycans - a sugar-coated tick bite. Trends Parasitol
9. Edlow, J. A. (2023) Alpha-Gal Syndrome: A Novel and Increasingly Common Cause of Anaphylaxis. Ann Emerg Med
10. Sharma, S. R., and Karim, S. (2021) Tick Saliva and the Alpha-Gal Syndrome: Finding a Needle in a Haystack. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 11, 680264
11. Pomes, A., Helm, R. M., Bannon, G. A., Burks, A. W., Tsay, A., and Chapman, M. D. (2003) Monitoring peanut allergen in food products by measuring Ara h 1. J Allergy Clin Immunol 111, 640-645
12. Md, A., Maeda, M., Matsui, T., Takasato, Y., Ito, K., and Kimura, Y. (2021) Purification and molecular characterization of a truncated-type Ara h 1, a major peanut allergen: oligomer structure, antigenicity, and glycoform. Glycoconj J 38, 67-76
13. Cummings, R. D., Hokke, C. H., and Haslam, S. M. (2022) Parasitic Infections. in Essentials of Glycobiology (Varki, A., Cummings, R. D., Esko, J. D., Stanley, P., Hart, G. W., Aebi, M., Mohnen, D., Kinoshita, T., Packer, N. H., Prestegard, J. H., Schnaar, R. L., and Seeberger, P. H. eds.), 4th Ed., Cold Spring Harbor (NY). pp 569-582
14. Aalberse, R. C., Koshte, V., and Clemens, J. G. (1981) Immunoglobulin E antibodies that crossreact with vegetable foods, pollen, and Hymenoptera venom. J Allergy Clin Immunol 68, 356-364
15. Kawahito, S., Kitahata, H., and Oshita, S. (2009) Problems associated with glucose toxicity: role of hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress. World J Gastroenterol 15, 4137-4142
16. Khalid, M., Petroianu, G., and Adem, A. (2022) Advanced Glycation End Products and Diabetes Mellitus: Mechanisms and Perspectives. Biomolecules 12
17. Slavin, J., and Carlson, J. (2014) Carbohydrates. Adv Nutr 5, 760-761