Structural Characterization of Degraded Lycium barbarum L. Leaves' Polysaccharide Using Ascorbic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide

Plant-derived polysaccharide's conformation and chain structure play a key role in their various biological activities. Lycium barbarum L. leaves' polysaccharide is well renowned for its health functions. However, its functional bioactivities are greatly hindered by its compact globular structure and high molecular weight. To overcome such issue and to improve the functional bioactivities of the polysaccharides, degradation is usually used to modify the polysaccharides conformation. In this study, the ethanol extract containing crude Lycium barbarum L. leaves' polysaccharide was first extracted, further characterized, and subsequently chemically modified with vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to produce degraded Lycium barbarum L. leaves' polysaccharide. To explore the degradation effect, both polysaccharides were further characterized using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results shown that both polysaccharides were rich in sugar and degradation had no significant major functional group transformation effect on the degraded product composition. However, the molecular weight (Mw) had decreased significantly from 223.5 kDa to 64.3 kDa after degradation, indicating significant changes in the polysaccharides molecular structure caused by degradation.

Automated summary

The conformation and chain structure of plant-derived polysaccharides are crucial for their various biological activities. Lycium barbarum L. leaves' polysaccharides are well known for their health benefits. However, their compact globular structure and high molecular weight greatly hinder their functional bioactivities. Degradation is commonly used to modify the conformation of polysaccharides and improve their functional bioactivities. In this study, the polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum L. leaves were degraded using vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The degradation effect was characterized using various techniques. The results showed that degradation led to a significant decrease in molecular weight, indicating changes in the polysaccharides' molecular structure.