Carbohydrate Polymers 82 (2010) 636640

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Carbohydrate Polymers

journa l homepage: www.e lsev ier .com

Chemic lyactivity

Hui Yana xiaWeidonga Department o rict, 10b Beijing Institu ing, Ch

a r t i c l

Article history:Received 11 MReceived in reAccepted 17 MAvailable onlin

Keywords:Astragalus monMiceMDAFT-IRGC

ranacere anis ofinosof ar

bandsaceugnicid levss.

1. Introduction

Excessivlar proteinscell death. Vto the formof reactiveogy is the sand growincal conditiooxidative intoxicity ofthis researconly circummonary disorganismswhas been litROS and of(Charles & H

Astragaluthroughoutpally in Eur(Fisch.) Bge

CorresponE-mail add

Japanese), is one of the best-known natural sources of saponins,along with Ginseng and Notoginseng. Modern pharmacological

0144-8617/$ doi:10.1016/j.ely high levels of free radicals cause damage to cellu-, membrane lipids and nucleic acids, and eventuallyarious mechanisms have been suggested to contributeation of these reactive oxygen-free radicals. The roleoxygen species (ROS) in normal and abnormal biol-ubject of intense study motivated, in part, by the largeg number of associations between various pathologi-ns and changes in oxidative balance, redox status, andjury (Obameetal., 2008;Wu,Xu, Shan,&Tan,2006). TheROS in experimental systems is uniequivocal. Despiteh effort and many clues and hypotheses, there existsstantial evidence of a causal role for ROS in nonpul-ease. Although it would be expected that developingould be especially vulnerable to oxidative injury, there

tle systematic study of exposures that might generatethe developmental consequences of such generationuang, 2009).s L. (Leguminosae) is a genus widely distributedthe temperate regions of the world, located princi-

ope, Asia and North America. Astragalus membranaceus, known by the Chinese name of Huang-qi (Ougi in

ding author. Tel.: +86 10 66721268.ress: ssgbzcg@yahoo.com.cn (S. Sun).

studies have shown that its roots show therapeutic activity asimmunostimulant, tonic (adaptogenic), hepatoprotective, diuretic,antidiabetic, analgesic, expectorant, and sedative (Ma, Shi, Duan,Dong, & Tsim, 2002).

The polysaccharides from A. membranaceus are the best known,and several research groups have isolated and puried them. Thehepatoprotective properties ofA.membranaceus extracts havebeenwidely studied and, in some cases, the active principles have beendescribed. Research has shown that its antioxidative properties canprevent liver damage. Studies on animals with toxic hepatic injuryinduced by CCl4, indicates that A. membranaceus root extract pre-vents a decrease in hepatic glycogen content and raises the levelsof total serum protein and albumin (Rios & Waterman, 1998).

In the present study we focused on crude polysaccharideextracted from A. membranaceus for its antioxidant properties andto the best of our knowledge, this is the rst report of the same.

1.1. Material and method

AstragalusmongholicuspolysaccharideswerekindlyprovidedbyJingLin Biochemistry Company. Its purity was 98%.

1.2. Analysis of chemical composition

Infrared spectra of the polysaccharides were recorded witha Nicolet 170SX FT-IR (Spectrum One, PerkinElmer Co., USA)

see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.carbpol.2010.05.026al analysis of Astragalus mongholicus poof the polysaccharides

, Yupeng Xiea, Shiguang Suna,, Xiaodi Suna, FengZhanga, Xiumin Lia, Jing Zhanga

f Pharmacy, General Hospital of Beijing Military Region, No. 5 Nanmen Cang, East Distte of Pharmacology and Toxicology, No. 27 Taiping Road, Haidian District, 100850 Beij

e i n f o

arch 2010vised form 12 May 2010ay 2010e 4 June 2010

gholicus polysaccharides

a b s t r a c t

Polysaccharide from Astragalus membtional groups of the polysaccharide wand gas chromatography (GC). Analysars: glucose, galactose, mannose, arabmannose and arabinose. The presencepresence of polyphenols. The intenseto the presence of furan ring. Pharmmongholicus polysaccharides could siin mice and decrease peroxidative lipgood protection against oxidative stre/ locate /carbpol

saccharides and antioxidant

Renb, Qirong Shia, Suhui Wanga,

0700 Beijing, Chinaina

eus was investigated for its antioxidant potential. Major func-alyzed by Fourier transmission-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR)the polysaccharide from A. membranaceus revealed four sug-e. Mannose was the major components, followed by glucose,omatic C C bands in the infrared (1600 cm1) suggested thein the infrared OH and C O regions were attributed mainly

tical experiments showed that administration of Astragalusantly increase serum and liver antioxidant enzyme activitiesels. In conclusion, A. mongholicus polysaccharides may offer

2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

H. Yan et al. / Carbohydrate Polymers 82 (2010) 636640 637

spectrometmethod. Thmined byGermany).Fig. 1. (a) GC analysis of standard sample; (b) GC analysis of Astraga

er in the range 4000400 cm1 using the KBr diske elemental compositions of the products were deter-an elemental analyzer (CHN-O-RAPID Heraeus Co.,

Gas chrowithanHP-anAlltechDfrom 180 tolus mongholicus polysaccharides.

matography (GC)of thepolysaccharideswasperformed6890gaschromatography (HewlettPackard,USA)usingB-225 capillary column (15m0.25mm)programmed220 C at 4 C/min and held at 220 C for 30min. The

638 H. Yan et al. / Carbohydrate Polymers 82 (2010) 636640

icus p

injection sahelium, andtion analysiCH3I and somethod aswas perform150ml/mintemperaturto 180 C atto 220 C at

1.3. Treatm

Male miCenter, andmal room urelative humlight/dark cbonated cagThe rats weGroup 1 (na standardadministererats in groube treatedfasted ratsfor antioxidtated andexfrozen in liq

1.4. Biochem

The quathe polysacthrough thResults werinhibit 50%

Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides on MDA level in blood and liver.

MDA

Blood (nmol/ml) Liver (nmol/mgprot)

l 6.41 0.57 1.76 0.49ent (40mg/kg BW) 5.22 0.29** 1.49 0.32ent (80mg/kg BW) 5.16 0.71** 1.35 0.23ent (160mg/kg BW) 5.02 0.60** 1.09 0.43*

.05, compared with control group.

.01, compared with control group.

tissues GSH concentration was measured using the methodFig. 2. FT-IR analysis of Astragalus monghol

mple volume was 2L, the carrier gas was high-puritydetection was by ame ionization. For the methyla-

s, the polysaccharides were permethylated twice usinglid NaOH in dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) as a sequentialdescribed (Needs & Selvendran, 1993a, 1993b). The GCed using the following conditions. H2: 30ml/min; air:

;N2: 1ml/min; injection temperature: 230 C; detectore: 230 C; column temperatures programmed from 1305 C/min, holding for 2min at 180 C, then increasing5 C/min and nally holding for 3min at 220 C.

ent and animals

Table 1Effect of

Group

ControTreatmTreatmTreatm

* P

H. Yan et al. / Carbohydrate Polymers 82 (2010) 636640 639

Table 3Effect of Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides on SOD, CAT and GPx in blood.

Group SOD (U/ml) CAT (U/ml) GSH-Px (U/0.1ml)

Control 0.13 0.11 5.69 2.63 550.83 54.39Treatment (4 7.4Treatment (8 9.0Treatment (1 12.4

* P

640 H. Yan et al. / Carbohydrate Polymers 82 (2010) 636640

Bloodand liverGSH levelswere lowered inpolysaccharides-treatedrats.

Enhancedperoxidationof lipids in intra- andextracellularmem-branes results in the damage to the cells, tissues and organs. SODand CAT are important antioxidant enzymes that protect from thisprocess via elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS). SOD cat-alyzes the reaction of superoxide anion radical (O2) dismutationto hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), whereas CAT degrades H2O2 into amolecule of oxygen and amolecule ofwater (Stohs & Bagchi, 1995).The results obtained regarding the activities of SOD, GPx and CAT,and the concentration of MDA (an indicator of lipid peroxidation)and GSH in the blood and liver clearly indicate that A. mongholicuspolysaccharides are able to reduce the oxidative stress in rats.

Thus, we predicted that the benecial effect of A. mongholicuspolysaccharides on improving some degenerative diseases may inpart contribute to its antioxidant activity.

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Chemical analysis of Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides and antioxidant activity of the polysaccharidesIntroductionMaterial and methodAnalysis of chemical compositionTreatment and animalsBiochemical parametersStatistical analysis

ResultDiscussionReferences