Chemical characterization of polysaccharides from Arctium lappa root and its hepatoprotective effects on mice

To clarify the structure of Arctium lappa polysaccharide (ALP) with hepatoprotective activity, the ALP with a molecular weight of 2193 Da was purified. It was mainly composed of fructose and glucose (mole ratio = 0.635: 0.284), and little amount of arabinose, galactose and mannose (mole ratio = 0.049: 0.010: 0.021). Structural characterization showed that ALP had a backbone consisted of ->(2-beta-D-Fruf-1)n ->. Histopathological analysis showed that ALP had a protective effect on CCl4-induced liver inflammation. ALP obviously inhibited the level of alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase and inflammatory cytokines, and decreased the mRNA ex-pressions of toll-like receptors 4/nuclear factor-kappaB pathway and the corresponding proteins in liver tissue. In addition, ALP also had antioxidant effects. These results suggested that ALP could be used as a treatment for liver injury and has a broad development prospect.

Automated summary

The Arctium lappa polysaccharide (ALP) with a molecular weight of 2193 Da was purified and found to be composed mainly of fructose and glucose, with smaller amounts of arabinose, galactose, and mannose. Structural characterization revealed that ALP had a backbone composed of ->(2-beta-D-Fruf-1)n ->. It was shown to have hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects, making it a potential treatment for liver injury.