title: Preparation, preliminary characterization and immunostimulatory activity of polysaccharide fractions from the peduncles of Hovenia dulcis.
abstract: The peduncles of Hovenia dulcis, containing abundant nutrients and having a taste like a combination of raisin, clove, cinnamon and sugar, have been consumed as fruits and used as traditional herbal medicine for a long time in China. Up to date, little information is available about the polysaccharides from peduncles of H. dulcis (HDPS) and their potential bioactivity. In this study, three purified fractions were prepared by sequential purification of crude HDPS through ion-exchange chromatography and gel-filtration chromatography. The three fractions of HDPS-1, HDPS-2 and HDPS-3 were found to be homogeneous heteropolysaccharides mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, galactose and galacturonic acid with an average molecular weight of 235, 70 and 53 kDa, respectively. HDPS-3 was quite different from HDPS-1 and HDPS-2, as it contained much higher content of galacturonic acid (40.5%). In vitro immunostimulatory activity evaluation revealed that all the three fractions could significantly stimulate the proliferation of splenocytes and enhance phagocytosis, nitric oxide production and acid phosphatase activity of peritoneal macrophages, which suggested that HDPS had a potent immunostimulatory activity and could be explored as a potential natural immunomodulatory agent.
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Mingchun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Changxing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Zhanjun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiaoxiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D027823:Rhamnaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011134:Polysaccharides