title: Pharmacological activities of a new glycosaminoglycan, acharan sulfate isolated from the giant African snail Achatina fulica.
abstract: Acharan sulfate (AS) is a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) prepared from the giant African snail, Achatina fulica. In this study, some biological activities of AS were evaluated on the basis of structural similarities to heparin/heparan sulfate and the biological functions of GAGs. We demonstrated that it exhibited strong immunostimulating activities as measured by carbon clearance test in mice and in vivo phagocytosis. It also exhibited a significant hypoglycemic activity in epinephrine (EP)-induced hyperglycemia as well as antifatigue effects by weight-loaded forced swimming test. And it showed hypolipidemic activities in cholesterol-rich mixture induced hyperlipidemia in rats. The above results indicate that AS has diverse biological activities and suggest therapeutically important target molecules.
authors.affiliation: Natural Products Research Institute, Seoul National University, 28 Yeonkun-Dong, Jongno-Ku, Seoul 110-460, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Yeon Sil
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sang Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Hyung Seok
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Kuk Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Yeong Shik
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008112:Liver Glycogen / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012908:Snails / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D008055:Lipids; D008112:Liver Glycogen; C106771:acharan sulfate