title: Fractionation, physicochemical property and immunological activity of polysaccharides from Cassia obtusifolia.
abstract: The seeds of Cassia obtusifolia are widely used as a drink in Asia and an additive in food industry. Considerable amounts of water-soluble polysaccharides were found in the whole seeds, while conflicting results on structure characteristics have been reported, and few studies have been reported on physicochemical properties and immunomodulatory activities. In the present study, gradient ethanol precipitation was applied to fractionate the water-soluble polysaccharide (CP), and two sub-fractions CP-30 (30% ethanol precipitate) and CP-40 (40% ethanol precipitate) were obtained. Different rheological properties for CP-30 and CP-40 were found, indicating the differences in structure characteristics between CP-30 and CP-40. Chemical properties, including molecular weight, monosaccharide composition, and glycosidic linkage were investigated. Compared with CP-30, CP-40 had lower molecular weight and higher content of xylose. The immunomodulatory effects of CP, CP-30 and CP-40 were assessed. All of them were found to possess significant immunomodulation activities, while varied effects of them on macrophage functions were observed. The aim of the present study was to develop a simple and efficient method to purify cassia polysaccharides, and investigate their physicochemical properties and biological activities, which was meaningful for their potential use in food industry and folk medicine.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, Jiangxi, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, Jiangxi, PR China.
authors.forename: Junyi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, Jiangxi, PR China.
authors.forename: Shaoping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, Jiangxi, PR China; Center of Analysis and Testing, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, Jiangxi, PR China. Electronic address: wanyiqun@ncu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yiqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, Jiangxi, PR China. Electronic address: myxie@ncu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Mingyong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002366:Cassia / Q000737:chemistry*; D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods*; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008745:Methylation; D051379:Mice; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009005:Monosaccharides / Q000032:analysis; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010587:Phagocytosis; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000067996:RAW 264.7 Cells; D012212:Rheology; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D009005:Monosaccharides; D011134:Polysaccharides; D009569:Nitric Oxide
keywords: Cassia obtusifolia polysaccharides; Immunomodulatory activities; Physicochemical properties