Extraction, structural characterization, and biological activities of a new glucan from Codonopsis pilosula

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 4504
• Main Authors: Lu, Shanshan, Gu, Wei, Ma, Qihan, Tian, Rong, Qiu, Rongli, Ma, Lijie, Wu, Yinzhi, Liu, Mengxue, Tang, Junjie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 18.03.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/154; 631/449; 639/638; 692/700; Ammonium; Ammonium sulfate; Antioxidants - chemistry; Biological products; Codonopsis - chemistry; Codonopsis pilosula; Ethanol; Glucans - pharmacology; Homology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Inflammation; Lipopolysaccharides; Lipopolysaccharides - pharmacology; Medicine; Methods; Molecular weight; multidisciplinary; Physicochemical properties; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Saccharides; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Water - chemistry
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31660-2

In this study, a powerful and rapid aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) method was used to extract polysaccharides from Codonopsis pilosula . The ATPS process was investigated with response surface methodology (RSM). At an ammonium sulfate concentration of 17%, ethanol concentration of 30%, and extraction temperature of 40 °C at pH 6, the total extraction yield of polysaccharides reached (31.57 ± 1.28)%. After separation and purification, a homogenized polysaccharide CPP 2–4 with molecular weight of 3.9 × 10 4  kDa was obtained from the bottom phase. The physicochemical properties and structural features confirmed that CPP 2–4 was an α-1,6-glucan. Activity studies showed that the IC 50 of CPP 2–4 for DPPH radical scavenging was 0.105 mg/mL. The FRAP and ABTS assays showed that CPP 2–4 had strong antioxidant activity in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, CPP 2–4 inhibited NO release in RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide, which indicated a certain anti-inflammatory effect. This study improved the extraction rate of polysaccharides from C. pilosula and identified a glucan for the first time, that can contribute to a better understanding of the composition and structure of polysaccharides from C. pilosula and provide data support for the medicine and food homology of C. pilosula .