Structural characterizations andα-glucosidase inhibitory activities of four Lepidium meyenii polysaccharides with different molecular weights

Four polysaccharides(MCPa,MCPb,MCPc,MCPd)were obtained from Lepidium meyenii Walp.Their structures were characterized by chemical and instrumental methods including total sugar,uronic acid and protein content determi-nation,UV,IR and NMR spectroscopy,as well as monosaccharide composition determination and methylation analy-ses.Four polysaccharides were a group of glucans with different molecular weights ranging from 3.12 to 14.4 kDa,and shared a similar backbone chain consisting of(1→4)-glucose linkages with branches attached to C-3 and C-6.Furthermore,bioactivity assay showed that MCPs had concentration-dependent inhibitory activity onα-glucosidase.MCPb(Mw=10.1 kDa)and MCPc(Mw=5.62 kDa)with moderate molecular weights exhibited higher inhibitory activ-ity compared with MCPa and MCPd.