Response surface optimization of polysaccharides extraction from liriope roots and its modulatory effect on sjogren syndrome

The response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to study the extraction of liriope polysaccharides. The maximum extraction rate (64.1%) of liriope polysaccharides obtained by using the above optimised concentrations of the variables was extraction time (X-1) at 185 min, ratio of liquid to solid (X-2) at 11, and extraction temperature (X-3) at 94 degrees C. Forty male Wistar rats were used in the present experiment. After 2 weeks of acclimatization, animals were divided into 5 equal groups: control, SS model and 3 polysaccharides-treatment groups. Rats were orally administered their respective doses every day for 6 weeks. Liriope polysaccharides significantly increased the amount of salivary secretion, and the relative weight of spleen, thymus and submandibular glands. Therefore, the present results revealed that liriope polysaccharides exert a protective effect against tissue damage in rats with sjogren syndrome (SS). (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.