Degradation enhances the anticoagulant and antiplatelet activities of polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum L. leaves

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules Vol. 133; pp. 674 - 682
• Main Authors: Lin, Shenzhu, AL-Wraikat, Majida, Niu, Linru, Zhou, Fa, Zhang, Yanyan, Wang, Mengze, Ren, Jie, Fan, Junfeng, Zhang, Bolin, Wang, Liying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.07.2019
• Subjects: Carboxylic acid; Goji; Heparin; NMR; Ribose; Thrombosis; NMR; Heparin; Carboxylic acid; Ribose; Thrombosis; Goji
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.04.147

In the current study, a carboxyl-rich polysaccharide purified from Lycium barbarum L. leaves (hereafter, LP) and its degradation with ascorbic acid and hydrogen peroxide were characterized. Degradation decreased the molecular weight of LP from 4.63 × 104 to 3.45 × 104 Da, and increased its zeta potential from −8.01 to −5.35 mV. In vitro experiments showed that degradation significantly increased the anticoagulant activity and, in particular, antiplatelet activity of LP (p < 0.05). The polysaccharide with the highest degree of degradation had higher inhibitory activity than aspirin against arachidonic acid- and thrombin-induced platelet aggregation at 0.5 g/mL. A reduction in uronic acids between LP and its degradation products significantly decreased their antiplatelet activity (p < 0.05). Further analysis confirmed that polysaccharides changed from a compact spherical structure to a random coil in aqueous solution following degradation, which facilitated the interaction of polysaccharides and platelets. •Polysaccharide from Lycium barbarum L. leaves (LP) was well characterized.•The degradation with Vc and H2O2 potently increased LP's antiplatelet activity.•Less negative charges of degraded LP facilitate interaction of LP and platelets.•The degradation changes LP from a globular structure to a random coil conformation.