MONOSACCHARIDE COMPOSITION OF POLYSACCHARIDES THROUGH HILIC-UPLC-TQ-MS/MS

A simple,sensitive and direct method was developed for compositional analysis of plant polysaccharides using hydrophilic interaction ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry(HILIC-UPLC-TQ-MS/MS)in multiple-reaction monitoring(MRM).The effects of chromatographic columns,scan time,additive types,

COMPARISON OF POLYSACCHARIDES ISOLATED FROM THE MYCELIA OF A CULTIVATED STRAIN OF PORIA COCOS GROWN IN DIFFERENT LIQUID CULTURE MEDIA

Mycelium of a cultivated strain of Poria cocos was grown by submerged fermentation in a liquid mediumcontaining corn steep liquor with orbital shaking. Six polysaccharides coded as ac-PCM1, ac-PCM2, ac-PCM3-Ⅰ andⅡ, ac-PCM4-Ⅰand Ⅱ were isolated from the myelium by extracting with 0.9% NaCl aqueous solution, hot water, 0.5 mol/L NaOHaqueous solution and 88% formic acid. Exo-polysaccharide was obtained from the culture medium and coded as ac-PCM0.The monosaccharide composition and molecular weights of these polysaccharides were characterized by using infraredspectroscopy, gas chromaography, elemental analysis, ^(13)C-NMR, viscometry and light scattering. The results indicated thatac-PCM0, ac-PCM1 and ac-PCM2 are heteropolysaccharides containing glucose, galactose, mannose and fucose, and ac-PCM3-Ⅰ and ac-PCM3-Ⅱ mainly consist of D-glucose. The content of the glucose in the polysaccharides increased with theisolation progress. Remarkably, α-glucan and β-glucan coexisted in the extract by NaOH aqueous solution (ac-PCM3), andcould be separated by chemical methods. The protein in the ac-PCM polysaccharides cultured from the medium containingcorn steep liquor was higher than that in the ab-PCM from the medium with bran extract. Therefore, the polysaccharidesfrom Poria cocos mycelia cultured in different media have different chemical composition, molecular weights and conformations.

Properties of Polysaccharides in Several Seaweeds from Atlantic Canada and Their Potential Anti-Influenza Viral Activities

To explore the polysaccharides from selected seaweeds of Atlantic Canada and to evaluate their potential anti-influenza virus activities, polysaccharides were isolated from several Atlantic Canadian seaweeds, including three red algae (Polysiphonia lanosa, Furcellaria lumbricalis, and Palmaria palmata), two brown algae (Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus vesiculosus), and one green alga (Ulva lactuca) by sequential extraction with cold water, hot water, and alkali solutions. These polysaccharides were ana-lyzed for monosaccharide composition and other general chemical properties, and they were evaluated for anti-influenza virus activities. Total sugar contents in these polysaccharides ranged from 15.4% (in U. lactuca) to 91.4% (in F. lumbricalis); sulfation level was as high as 17.6% in a polysaccharide from U. lactuca, whereas it could not be detected in an alikali-extract from P. palmaria. For polysaccharides from red seaweeds, the main sugar units were sulfated galactans (agar or carrageenan) for P. lanosa, F. lumbricalis, and xylans for P. palmata. In brown seaweeds, the polysaccharides largely contained sulfated fucans, whereas the polysaccharides in green seaweed were mainly composed of heteroglycuronans. Screening for antiviral activity against influenza A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) virus revealed that brown algal polysaccharides were particularly effective. Seaweeds from Atlantic Canada are a good source of marine polysaccharides with potential antiviral properties.

Production and characterization of exopolysaccharides in mycelial culture of Cordyceps sinensis fungus Cs-HK1 with different carbon sources

The effects of different carbon sources(sugars) on the production and molecular properties of exopolysaccharides(EPS) were evaluated in the mycelial liquid culture of a medicinal fungus Cordyceps sinensis Cs-HK1. Galactose or mannose was used(at 5 g·L^(-1)) as a secondary carbon source with glucose(35 g·L^(-1)) at the mass ratio of 1:7. Mannose was consumed notably since the first day of culture, but galactose was not even after glucose was exhausted.The volumetric yield of EPS in culture was increased slightly with the addition of galactose and decreased with mannose. The monosaccharide composition of EPS was also different, e.g., on day 8, the glucose contents of EPS were 76%with the addition of mannose, 59% with galactose, compared with 62% with glucose only. The molecular weight distribution of EPS was also affected by the secondary carbon source, being generally lower compared with that with glucose only. The results suggested that the addition of galactose improved the total yield of EPS in culture while mannose can improve the yield of glucan constituent of EPS.

Anti-hyperglycemic effect of the polysaccharide fraction isolated from mactra veneriformis

Total macromolecule extract was obtained from the soft body of Mactra veneriformis by the coupling techniques of decoction and alcohol precipitation.The extract was deproteinized with an ion exchange column,and resulted in the purifying of the crude polysaccharide fraction.It was found by chemical analysis that the crude polysaccharide part is composed of abundant polysacchar-ides(>95%)and few proteins(<1%).Furthermore,only one type of monosaccharide,glucose,was detected from its hydrolytes by thin-layer chromatography,indicating that the polysaccharides might be analogs of glucosan.The anti-hyperglycemia effects of the crude polysaccharide part were preliminarily investigated using several pharmacolo-gical methods in normal and diabetic mice.Animal experimental results showed that the crude polysaccharide fraction exhibited proper glycemia inhibition activity,and 300 mg/kg-weight dose has the optimal effect among all the studied doses.It is concluded that the crude polysaccharide fraction can be explored as a novel health product that possesses potential as an anti-hyperglycemic agent.