Purified Auricularia auricular-judae polysaccharide (AAP I-a) prevents oxidative stress in an ageing mouse model

This paper reports on a water-soluble polysaccharide (AAP I-a) extracted from Auricularia auricular with assistance from ultrasonics, and purified by anion-exchange and gel-permeation chromatography. Additional further structural characteristics were determined from high-performance liquid chromatography/gel permeation chromatograph (HPLC/GPC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer and gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometer (GC-MS). AAP I-a is composed of L-rhamnose, L-arabinose, D-xylose, D-mannose, D-glucose, and D-galactose in a molar ratio of 0.2:2.6:0.4:3.6:1.0:0.4. After 35 days of AAP I-a oral administration (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg once a day), the AAP I-a significantly decreased the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) activities in mice where ageing is induced by D-galactose (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our results indicated that AAP I-a possessed potent antioxidant activity. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.