Water-soluble Crude Polysaccharide Research Articles

Structural Features ofPlantago lanceolata Mucilage

The water soluble crude polysaccharide fraction from PLANTAGO LANCEOLATA leaves is composed of L-arabinose (20%), D-galactose (28%), D-glucose (6%), D-mannose (2%), L-rhamnose (4%), D-galacturonic acid (31%), D-glucuronic acid (7%) and minor amounts of L-fucose and D-xylose. The total polysaccharide extract could be separated on DEAE-cellulose into three distinct polysaccharide fractions, two of which, FI (neutral) and FII (acidic), were subjected to further structural investigations. While FI could be fractionated into two subfractions (FIa, MW: 8000; FIb, MW: 25000) by gel chromatography, FII proved to be homogeneous (MW: 70000). Analysis of component sugars, reduction and methylation, (13)C-NMR spectroscopy and partial acid degradation studies made it possible to suggest the structural repeating units for the polysaccharides in FI and FII.

Studies on Polysaccharides fromAngelica acutiloba

Water-soluble crude polysaccharide (AR-1) prepared from the root of ANGELICA ACUTILOBA Kitagawa (Japanese name = Yamato Tohki) was fractionated into three polysaccharide fractions, AR-2, AR-3 and AR-4 by the addition of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. The major polysaccharide fraction, AR-2, consisted of a pectic acid-like molecule, and all fractions contained arabinose, galactose and glucose as the major neutral sugars. AR-4 showed the highest anti-complementary activity and interferon inducing activity, but mitogenic activity was shown only in the AR-1. When AR-4 was further fractionated by anion-exchange chromatography, the anti-complementary and interferon inducing activities were observed in the different polysaccharide subfractions. These results indicate that both activities are caused by different polysaccharide molecules and that the mitogenic activity is due to a minor polysaccharide or other component rather than to the major polysaccharides.