五味子多糖

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 50 (2012) 844–848

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International Journal of Biological

Macromolecules

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e :w w w.e l s e v i e r.c o m /l o c a t e /i j b i o m a

c

An immunostimulatory polysaccharide (SCP-IIa)from the fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.)Baill

Yong Chen a ,Jinbao Tang b ,∗,1,Xiaoke Wang a ,Fengxiang Sun a ,Shujuan Liang a ,∗,1

a Department of Basic Medicine,Weifang Medical University,Weifang 261042,China

b

Department of Pharmacology and Biological Science,Weifang Medical University,Weifang 261042,China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:

Received 27October 2011Received in revised form 12November 2011

Accepted 15November 2011

Available online 23 November 2011

Keywords:

Polysaccharide

Schisandra chinensis

Immunomodulatory effect Cyclophosphamide

a b s t r a c t

A water-soluble polysaccharide named SCP-IIa was isolated from the water extract of the fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.)Baill by means of ethanol precipitation,deproteination,anion-exchange and gel-permeation chromatography.The molecular weight of SCP-IIa was ascertained via HPLC,and immuno-modulating effect was evaluated using the immunosuppressed model induced by cyclophos-phamide.SCP-IIa was a homogeneous form of polysaccharide,with an average molecular weight of approximately 7700Da.The detected parameters showed that SCP-IIa increased the thymus and spleen indices,as well as the pinocytic activity of the peritoneal macrophages in immunosuppressed mice.The splenocyte proliferation assay showed that SCP-IIa,in combination with Con A or LPS,positively affected splenocyte proliferation.Moreover,the polysaccharide promoted hemolysin formation.The results sug-gested that SCP-IIa was involved in immunomodulatory effects leading to the exploration for SCP-IIa as a potential immunostimulant.

© 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1.Introduction

Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.)Baill is produced mainly in north-east China.Its fruit (referred to hereafter as S.chinensis )has been extensively used as traditional medicine and functional food in the Orient for thousands of years.S.chinensis has many traditional usages,such as collecting and arresting discharge,supplementing Qi,promoting the production of body fluids,nourishing the kidney,and calming the heart.It is a famous and precious Chinese tradi-tional drug,with frequency of 22times in the China pharmacopoeia [1].

The interest of researchers in medicinal plants as natural sources of active compounds had remarkably increased during the past decades,and particular attention had been given to the polysac-charide components of various traditional Asian medicines [2–4].Recently polysaccharides were found to have many pharmacolog-ical actions,including liver protection,resistance to oxidation and aging,and anticancer properties [5–7].

In recent years,the use of immunomodulators to enhance host defense responses had been found to be one of the most promising alternatives to classical antibiotic treatment [8].Polysac-charides isolated from various traditional medicinal plants had

∗Corresponding authors.Tel.:+865368462266;fax:+865368462266.E-mail addresses:tangjb@ (J.Tang),liangshjuan@ (S.Liang).1

Contributed equally to this work.

been shown to profoundly affect the immune system both in vivo and in vitro through their ability to modulate immune function,including cytokine/chemokine production,reactive oxygen species (ROS)production,and cell proliferation [9].It has potential as an immunomodulator because it has no significant side effects,which is a major problem associated with immunomodulatory bacterial polysaccharides and synthetic compounds [8,10,11].

However,there are few published data on the purification of S.chinensis polysaccharide (SCP)and its effects on immune responses.In the present study,we isolated and purified SCP-IIa from S.chi-nensis and investigated the immune status of SCP-IIa -treated mice.Since a temporarily weakened immune system is the indicator for therapy with herbal immunomodulators [12],we investigated the effects of SCP on macrophage function.Levels of serum cytokine and splenocyte proliferation in immunosuppressed mice treated with cyclophosphamide (Cy)were determined to identify whether SCP-IIa exerts its action through systemic effects and to investigate the extent of SCP-IIa’s ability to restore deviated immune parameters in immunosuppressed animals.

2.Materials and methods

2.1.Materials

S.chinensis was purchased from Weifang Ben-Cao-Ge Chinese Matreria Medica Co.Ltd.and verified by Prof.Chongmei Xu (Depart-ment of Pharmaceutical and Biological Science,Weifang Medical University,Weifang,PR China).

0141-8130/$–see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2011.11.015