Immunologically active polysaccharide from Cetraria islandica.
A new alkali-soluble polysaccharide has been isolated from Iceland moss, Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach., by ethanol fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography, and gel filtration. The mean M(r) was estimated to be 18,000. Sugar and methylation analysis, partial hydrolysis, and 13C-NMR spectroscopy showed the polysaccharide to be a branched galactomannan with a backbone composed of two structural elements; (1-->6)-linked alpha-D-mannopyranosyl and alpha-D-(1-->6)-galactopyranosyl units. The polysaccharide showed pronounced immunostimulating activity in an in vitro phagocytosis assay and in the in in vivo carbon clearance assay.
Ingolfsdottir
K
K
Department of Pharmacy, University of Iceland, Reykjavik.
Jurcic
K
K
Fischer
B
B
Wagner
H
H
D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D005690:Galactose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008011:Lichens / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008351:Mannans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects*
D008351:Mannans; C012990:galactomannan; D005690:Galactose