Screening of natural polysaccharides extracted from the fruits of Pithecellobium dulce as a pharmaceutical adjuvant

Polysaccharides were extracted from the dried fruiting bodies of Pithecellobium dulce with 20% ethanol by microwave-assisted extraction. The polysaccharides were isolated by ion exchange chromatography and afford three water-soluble polysaccharides PDP-1, PDP-2, and PDP-3. These isolated compounds were subjected to acid hydrolysis, methylation, IR and GC-MS for its compositional analysis and revealed that all the three fractions are heteropolysaccharides. PDP-1 was found to be composed of xylose, mannose, galactose and Rhamnose. PDP-2 and PDP-3 composed of xylose, Rhamnose, glucose, ribose, galactose, and mannose. The micromeretic properties of the extracted polysaccharides possessed a bulk density of 0.69 g/ml,0.65 g/ml and 0.71 g/ml for PDP-1, PDP-2, and PDP-3 respectively. The Hausner's ratio and Carr's index confirm the good flow property and compressibility of the polysaccharides. The polysaccharides extracted from Pithecellobium dulce fruits were tested for its application as a pharmaceutical adjuvant. The in vitro drug release study suggests that the extracted polysaccharides are potential candidates as a pharmaceutical adjuvant. Furthermore, the three isolated polysaccharides were subjected to its radical scavenging activity using DPPH, phospho molybdenum assay and reducing power assay. The results exhibited that the polysaccharides can be explored as a novel natural antioxidant and can be recommended as a functional food. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved