Research progress on stability of polysaccharides in traditional Chinese medicine

Abstract

Polysaccharides are natural polymer compounds composed of monosaccharides,which are widely found in traditional Chinese medicines( TCM) and work as one of the important active ingredients in TCM. Modern pharmacological studies reported that TCM polysaccharides had many functions such as anti-tumor,immunologic enhancement,intestinal microenvironment regulation and anti-oxidation. At present,TCM polysaccharide preparations such as Astragalus polysaccharide injection,Ginseng polysaccharide injection and Poria cocos polysaccharide oral liquid have been widely applied for clinical use. Besides,Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide,Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharide,Acanthopanax senticosus polysaccharide and some other TCM polysaccharides also have received widespread attention and research because of their good biological activities. Meanwhile,more and more attention has been paid to the TCM polysaccharides and their preparations,illumination of mechanisms,and development of corresponding preparations which meet clinical standards. However,due to the complex structure of TCM polysaccharides,their structure analysis is difficult,with only a few reports on the stability and quality control of polysaccharides and their preparations. As a result,it will impede the development of new polysaccharide drugs and reduce the application value of polysaccharides. In order to provide an effective basis for the formulation development and quality control of TCM polysaccharides,the research progress on the stability of TCM polysaccharides and their preparations were reviewed in this paper from the classification of TCM polysaccharides,the existing application and the analytical method of TCM polysaccharides.