title: Composition and systemic immune activity of the polysaccharides from an herbal tea (Lycopus lucidus Turcz).
abstract: This study was undertaken to characterize the water-soluble polysaccharides isolated from an herbal tea, the leaves of L. lucidus Turcz. HPLC analysis showed that L. lucidus polysaccharides (LLPs) were mainly composed of galactose (50.1 mol %), followed by galacturonic acid (14.2 mol %), accounting for 64.3 mol % of all quantitative nine monosaccharides. Furthermore, we evaluated the systemic immunological efficacy of LLPs in mice. Mice were intragastrically administered once daily with low-dose (50 mg/kg), intermediate-dose (100 mg/kg), and high-dose (300 mg/kg) of LLPs, respectively, for 30 consecutive days. In comparison with vehicle, LLPs significantly enhanced the plaque-forming cells (PFCs), and serum hemolysin level, and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) in response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.01). In LLPs-treated mice, phagocytosis capacity and concanavalin A-induced spleenocyte proliferation were remarkably increased (p < 0.05). The intermediate- and high-dose of LLPs also caused a significant increase in the indices of thymus and spleen organs of mice (p < 0.05). This suggests that the polysaccharides derived from the tea leaves of L. lucidus improves the immune system and might be regarded as a biological response modifier.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China.
authors.forename: Xingbin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: You
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Lingmin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001628:Beverages / Q000032:analysis*; D005690:Galactose / Q000032:analysis; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000097:blood; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed; D007109:Immunity / Q000187:drug effects*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D056724:Immunity, Humoral / Q000187:drug effects; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D031333:Lycopus / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis*; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D011134:Polysaccharides; C007819:galacturonic acid; D005690:Galactose