title: Isolation and some characterization of an acidic polysaccharide with anti-calcification activity from coccoliths of a marine alga, Pleurochrysis carterae.
abstract: Coccolith is a calcified scale with species-specific fine structure produced by marine unicellular coccolithophorid algae, and consists of calcium carbonate crystals and organic matrices. EDTA-soluble organic materials extracted from coccoliths of Pleurochrysis carterae showed anti-calcification activity. They were separated by anion-exchange HPLC, and two fractions, fractions A and B, were obtained. Fraction B, which was more active than fraction A, was further separated into six consecutive fractions, B1-B6, by second anion-exchange HPLC. 1H NMR spectral analyses of these fractions suggested that a novel acidic polysaccharide, designated CMAP, existed throughout B1-B6 and that the latter four fractions mainly contained another acidic polysaccharide, PS-2, characterized previously. Since PS-2 did not show anti-calcification activity, CMAP was found to be the active principle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozaki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakuda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagasawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D011134:Polysaccharides; D002119:Calcium Carbonate