DEFINITION

Dextran 1 is a low molecular weight fraction of dextran, consisting of a mixture of isomaltooligosaccharides. It is obtained by controlled hydrolysis and fractionation of dextrans produced by fermentation of Leuconostoc mesenteroides (strain NRRL B-512; CIP 78.59, or its substrains, for example L. mesenteroides B-512F; NCTC, 10817), in the presence of sucrose. It is a glucose polymer in which the linkages between glucose units are almost exclusively α-1,6. Its weight-average molecular weight is in the 850–1150 range.