Physicochemical Characterization and In Vitro Hypoglycemic Activity of a Low‐Molecular‐Weight Extracellular Polysaccharide From Deep‐Sea <i>Beauveria bassiana</i>

M for α-glucosidase. Within the tested range, its inhibitory activity was stronger than that of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) but weaker than that of acarbose. In a palmitic acid-induced insulin-resistant HepG2 model, BPS-2 significantly enhanced glucose consumption and increased 2-Deoxy-2-[(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl) amino]-D-glucose (2-NBDG) uptake by 44.9% at 0.75 mg/mL without detectable cytotoxicity, suggesting a potential role in improving cellular glucose utilization under insulin-resistant conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing hypoglycemic-related activity of extracellular polysaccharides derived from deep-sea B. bassiana. These findings provide initial evidence linking the structural features of BPS-2 to glucose metabolism-associated bioactivity, while further studies are required to clarify detailed structural characteristics and underlying molecular mechanisms.