Therapeutic potential of sulfated glycosaminoglycan from seafood Asian green mussel (Perna viridis): Insights from an in vivo study

Abstract

The Asian green mussel, Perna viridis, is widely consumed as seafood throughout the coastal regions of the Indo-Pacific area owing to its significant pharmaceutical and biomedical benefits. A pharmacologically active (1 → 3)/(1 → 4) linked sulfated glycosaminoglycan (PVP-2) with β-(1 → 3)-GlcNSp, and α-(1 → 4)-GlcAp units was isolated from P. viridis. PVP-2 (at 1–10 μg/mL) demonstrated a suppression of nitric oxide (NO) secretion in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Notably, PVP-2 at 5 μg/mL effectively restored NO levels (0.32 μg/mL) to homeostasis by downregulating excessive production (1.22 μg/mL). Furthermore, PVP-2 (at 22 mg/kg body weight) showed effective reduction of carrageenan-induced paw edema (82% inhibition at 5 h) in time dependent manner. This reduction was found to be comparable with standard treatment (87% inhibition of paw edema at 5 h). Treatment with PVP-2 (at 110 mg/kg body weight) resulted substantial inhibition of formalin-induced paw edema up to 10 days. At the end of the 10th day, the reduction in paw thickness was significantly greater (a four-fold increase) in the PVP-2 treated group compared to the formalin-induced group. Furthermore, PVP-2 displayed potent anti-inflammatory effect by attenuating cyclooxygenases (COX-1, 2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) (IC50 < 2 mg/mL) enzymes with a higher selectivity index (IC50 COX-1/IC50 COX-2 ∼ 1.7) towards inducible pro-inflammatory COX-2. Therefore, inhibition of the NO production along with the reduction of paw edema, highlights the therapeutic potential of sulfated glycosaminoglycan from seafood Asian green mussel, as a naturally derived functional food to mitigate inflammation related disorders.