Abstract
Natural antioxidants such as polysaccharides with strong antioxidant activities are used to protect against oxidative damage, yet little is known so far about the antioxidant effects of litchi fruit polysaccharides. In the present study, four different polysaccharide-enriched fractions were isolated from litchi pulp tissue and partially purified by a stepwise method of ethyl alcohol (EtOH) precipitation. Their chemical and physical characteristics were determined by chemical methods, gas chromatography and IR spectrophotometry. Antioxidant activities of these fractions were investigated using various in vitro assay systems. These four polysaccharide-enriched fractions exhibited a dose-dependent free radical scavenging activity as shown by their DPPH radical, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical inhibition, chelating ability and reducing power. Among the different fractions, LFP-III showed the strongest scavenging activity against DPPH radical, superoxide and hydroxyl radicals and chelating ability. These findings suggest litchi polysaccharides from pulp tissue have potential as functional foods with enhanced antioxidant activity.
Highlights
Oxidation is an essential process for all living organisms for the production of energy necessary for biological processes [1]
Different polysaccharide-enriched fractions were isolated from pulp of litchi and partially purified by the stepwise ethyl alcohol (EtOH) precipitation method. Their chemical and physical characteristics were determined by chemical methods, gas chromatography and IR spectrophotometry. Their possible antioxidant activities were investigated using various in vitro assay systems such as DPPH radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, and ferrous ion chelating ability and reducing power, in order to understand the potential usefulness of litchi pulp as a functional food
There are two types of antioxidation mechanism: one suppresses the generation of hydroxyl radical, and the other scavenges the hydroxyl radicals generated [29]. In the former, the metal ions may react with H2O2 to give hydroxyl radicals and form the corresponding metal complexes, while the antioxidant activity may bond to these metal ions and cannot further react with H2O2
Summary
Oxidation is an essential process for all living organisms for the production of energy necessary for biological processes [1]. Litchi fruits have been used to produce various types of healthy products and foods, e.g., medicinal beverages, drinks or soup [13,14,15] This suggests that it merits investigation as a potential antioxidant for clinical use. Different polysaccharide-enriched fractions were isolated from pulp of litchi and partially purified by the stepwise EtOH precipitation method Their chemical and physical characteristics were determined by chemical methods, gas chromatography and IR spectrophotometry. Their possible antioxidant activities were investigated using various in vitro assay systems such as DPPH radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, and ferrous ion chelating ability and reducing power, in order to understand the potential usefulness of litchi pulp as a functional food
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