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This study was designed to investigate the liver and kidney protective efficacy of a Lachnum polysaccharide (LEP) against Pb-induced toxicity in mice. The results showed that LEP decreased the Pb-induced bodyweight loss and organ index. Moreover, biochemical analysis showed that treatment of LEP could improve antioxidant status (CAT, GSH-Px and MDA) and the injury of tissues (liver and kidney). In addition, the histopathological observations indicated that LEP could attenuate liver and kidney cell injury induced by Pb. For further studies, key proteins involved in hepatic and kidney apoptosis, including cleaved caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, TGF-β1 and α-SMA, were quantified. The present findings demonstrated that LEP is strongly effective in protecting against the liver and kidney injury induced by Pb. We hope this research can offer a theoretical base for development of polysaccharide based on nutraceutical food in future., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The physicochemical properties and the immunoregulatory actions in vitro of an exopolysaccharide from Lachnum (LEP) and its conjugation with a dipeptide (LEP-RH) were investigated aiming to improve their functional characteristics. The structure characteristic of the LEP and LEP-RH were determined via FT-IR and NMR. The physicochemical properties were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), rheometer, and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). SEM results showed that LEP-RH had a rough surface and relatively loose distribution that different from LEP. Rheological studies of LEP and LEP-RH at the same concentration indicated that LEP and LEP-RH have similar shear-thinning behaviors and gel-like structures, while LEP-RH has a better thermal stability than LEP. Bioassay results showed that treatment with the higher dosage (200 μg/mL) of LEP and LEP-RH stimulated the proliferation, cytokine secretion (IL-2, IL-6 and TNF-α) of RAW264.7 macrophages., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-fatigue activity of an exopolysaccharide LEP-1b and its carboxymethylated derivative CLEP-1b from a Lachnum sp. Carboxymethylation was confirmed through FT-IR and 13 C NMR spectroscopies, which showed that the (-CH 2 COOH) group was attached to an oxygen (O) atom of the hydroxyl group on (C-3) of LEP-1b. Each treatment group LEP-1b and CLEP-1b at doses (50, 100, 200mg/kg, respectively) ameliorated physical fatigue and extended exhaustive swimming time in mice. Results of the fatigue related biochemical markers showed that LEP-1b and CLEP-1b at doses (50, 100, 200mg/kg, respectively) increased the content of hepatic glycogen and decreased the level of serum urea nitrogen and lactic acid. Additionally, LEP-1b and CLEP-1b enhanced the antioxidant enzymes' activities and reduced the lipid peroxidation. Moreover, results revealed that CLEP-1b had higher anti-fatigue activity than LEP-1b at same doses but without statistical significance, especially CLEP-1b (200mg/kg) had strong anti-fatigue effects. Therefore, LEP-1b and CLEP-1b can potentially be exploited as a kind of healthcare compound to combat fatigue and to boost physical strength., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Polysaccharides from Trichosanthes peel (TPP) were obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction. TPP-1 was separated from the TPP by Sephadex G-100 column chromatography. Phosphorylation of TPP-1 was carried out and phosphorylated TPP-1 was named as PTTP-1. The results of infrared spectra, 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance spectra showed that the main structure of PTPP-1 was similar to that of TPP-1 and -H 2 PO 3 groups which were conjugated to C-6 of →4)-α-D-Manp-(1→, C-4 of →6)-α-D-Galp-(1→, C-2 and C-3 of →1)-α-L-Araf, C-2 of →1)-α-L-Araf-(3→, and C-6 and C-3 of →1)-α-D-Glcp. In vivo antiaging activity results proved that TTP-1 and PTTP-1 could both significantly improve the body weight, spleen index, and thymus index of the D-galactose-induced aging mice, increase the levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and reduce malondialdehyde contents in the liver, brain, and serum of aging mice. These results indicated that both TPP-1 and PTTP-1 presented significant antiaging activity. Moreover, PTTP-1 showed stronger antiaging effects in aging mice, indicating that phosphorylation improved antiaging effect., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Hyperlipidemia is one of the major health problem people suffering throughout the world, which is also a major risk factor for chronic heart disease that can lead to death. The current study was designed to investigate antihyperlipidemic and hepatoprotective effects of selenium modified exopolysaccharide of Lachnum sp. (SeLEP-1b) on high-fat induced mice model. Nitric acid-sodium selenite (HNO 3 -Na 2 SeO 3 ) method was used to selenize pure LEP-1b. FT-IR and 13 C NMR results confirmed the modification of LEP-1b into SeLEP-1b. The main structure of SeLEP-1b was similar to the original structure of native LEP-1b and Se(O)OH group was attached to the O-6 position of C-6 in LEP-1b. Oral administration of LEP-1b and SeLEP-1b (200mg/kg) notably reduced the serum and liver lipids, atherogenic index, and enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes of hyperlipidemic mice, aswell improved the histopathological status of hepatic tissues. Hence, SeLEP-1b showed better effects than LEP-1b at the same doses. SeLEP-1b demonstrated promising lipid-lowering and liver protecting activities, which may be considered as a novel compound to treat hyperlipidemia and also act as a hepatoprotective agent., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

A sulfated polysaccharide, designated as SLEP-1, was obtained after sulfation of the exopolysaccharide (LEP-1) which was isolated from Lachnum. The degree of substitution (DS) of sulfate group of SLEP-1 was 1.97. SEM images of SLEP-1 revealed laminated structure in mesh. UV, FT-IR and 13 C NMR spectra indicated that the LEP-1 was sulfated successfully. The result of the anticoagulant activity in vitro showed that both of LEP-1 and SLEP-1 could effectively prolong activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and thrombin time (TT) of the normal mice plasma, in which SLEP-1 was more effectively than those of LEP-1, and dose-effect relationships were found. According to the bleeding time (BT), clotting time (CT), APTT, PT, prothrombin time (TT), fibrinogen (FIB), AT-III activity and FXa concentration of the hypercoagulable mice, it indicated that SLEP-1 (30mg·kg -1 and 90mg·kg -1 ) had strong inhibitory effect on intrinsic coagulation pathway, which could also enhance fibrinolytic activity. It may constitute an anticoagulant drug of interest in anticoagulant therapy., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

BACKGROUND: Novel functional polysaccharides from fungi are important nutraceuticals. An exopolysaccharide, Morchella esculenta exopolysaccharide (MEP 2), was extracted and purified from the fermentation liquor of M. esculenta. The aim of this study was to investigate its digestion profile, antioxidant capacity, and effect on the microbiota composition in diabetic mice. RESULTS: The study found that MEP 2 was stable during in vitro saliva digestion but was partially degraded during gastric digestion. The digest enzymes exerted a negligible effect on the chemical structure of MEP 2. Molecular weight and atomic force microscope (AFM) images suggest that both smaller chains and larger aggregations were produced. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images reveal that the surface morphology was much altered after intestinal digestion. After digestion, the antioxidant ability increased as revealed by the 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′‐azino‐bis (3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays. Both MEP 2 and its digested components showed strong α‐amylase and moderate α‐glucosidase inhibition activity, leading us to further investigate its ability to modulate the diabetic symptoms. The MEP 2 treatment ameliorated the inflammatory cell infiltration and increased the size of pancreas inlets. Serum concentration of HbA1c was significantly reduced. Blood glucose level during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was also slightly lower. The MEP 2 increased the diversity of the gut microbiota and modulated the abundance of several important bacteria including Alcaligenaceae, Caulobacteraceae, Prevotella, Brevundimonas, Demequina, and several Lachnospiraceae species. CONCLUSION: It was found that MEP 2 was partially degraded during in vitro digestion. Its potential antidiabetic bioactivity may be associated with its α‐amylase inhibition and gut microbiome modulation ability. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lachnum polysaccharide (LEP) possessed anti-tumor effect on S180 cells in vivo. • LEP alleviated immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. • LEP promoted Th1 polarization and the secretion of IFN-γ. • LEP reset TAMs from pro-tumor M2 to anti-tumor M1 phenotype. • LEP activated M1 macrophages via TLR4 mediated NF-κB signaling pathway. Therapeutic strategies that targeting tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) reprogramming play a crucial role in ameliorating the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and boosting anti-tumor immune responses. In this study, we demonstrated that Lachnum polysaccharide (LEP) could work as an immunomodulator to reset TAMs from pro-tumor M2 to anti-tumor M1 phenotype. Mechanistically, LEP promoted Th1 polarization and the secretion of IFN-γ, which played a key role in M1 phenotype polarization. In parallel, LEP might directly activate M1 macrophages via TLR4 mediated NF-κB signaling pathway. Moreover, LEP also resulted in the accumulation of anti-tumor immune cells and decreased the infiltration of immunosuppressive cells such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and Treg cells, thereby potentiating anti-tumor immunity. In summary, these results revealed a novel mechanism of the anti-tumor effect of LEP and provided a potential new avenue targeting TAMs and cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antimetabolite 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) is a widely used antitumor agent, however the overall response rate to 5‐FU as a single agent is usually limited. Herein, how Lachnum expolysaccharide (LEP‐2a), a type of active polysaccharide isolated from Lachnum sp., acted synergistically with 5‐FU on HepG2 cells was investigated. It was found that LEP‐2a notably enhanced 5‐FU sensitivity in HepG2 cells in a synergistic manner. After combination treatment of 5‐FU and LEP‐2a, Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway were inactivated. In addition, combination treatment induced generation of reactive oxygen species, decreased the levels of intracellular antioxidant enzymes and triggered mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Furthermore, 5‐FU combined with LEP‐2a also resulted in p53 activation and NF‐κB inhibition, and cell cycle arrest in the S phase as well as cell metastasis stagnation. Interestingly, LEP‐2a treatment also blocked the DNA damage repair procedure. These findings demonstrate that LEP‐2a enhanced 5‐FU sensitivity and combination of 5‐FU and LEP‐2a exerts synergistic antitumor efficiency through multiple approaches. HIGHLIGHTS: 1.Lachnum expolysaccharide (LEP‐2a) possesses antitumor effect on HepG2 cells in vitro.2.LEP‐2a combined with 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) has a synergistic effect against HepG2 cells in vitro.3.The synergistic effect is mediated by the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.4.Reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway promote the effect.5.LEP‐2a blocks DNA damage repair and induces cell cycle arrest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combination therapy with chemotherapeutics is attracting increasing attention as an important treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to its complex pathological characteristics. In this study, as a new therapy strategy, combination treatment of LEP-2a (a non-toxic polysaccharide from Lachnum sp.) with cyclophosphamide (CTX) was investigated. Results showed that combination treatment with LEP-2a and CTX processed a significantly synergistic anti-tumor effect in H22 tumor-bearing mice through Fas/FasL mediated caspase-dependent death pathway and mitochondria apoptosis pathway. Moreover, our study indicated that LEP-2a played a crucial role in enhancement of immune response, inhibition of tumor angiogenesis and down-regulation of survival associated proteins. Notably, side effects induced by CTX were relieved after LEP-2a treatment. These results support the conception that LEP-2a has the potential as an ideal adjuvant agent for a more effective combination therapy with CTX against HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In this study, solid dispersions (SDs) and electrospinning combined methods were used to increase the bioavailability and solubility of a water insoluble drug. Pullulan (PUL) nanofibers containing rutin-Pluronic SDs (PUL&RU@PF) were fabricated by electrospinning. Rutin was efficiently loaded with Pluronic SDs using a facile mixing method and the prepared SDs indicated that 4% w/v Pluronic concentration provided the optimal drug loading efficiency. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) verified that the morphology of the complex nanofibers had a uniformly smooth surface with a porous structure. The amorphous state of rutin was examined by XRD and DSC. Moreover, rutin in the electrospun PUL-rutin-Pluronic complex structure displayed a fast release profile and equivalent antioxidant ability compared to that of raw rutin. In conclusion, PUL&RU@PF may be a promising alternative for enhanced solubility and UV stability with remaining rutin's inherent antioxidant ability. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 44859. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phthaloyl polysaccharide (PHEP-2a) was prepared from a Lachnum exopolysaccharide (LEP-2a) by chemical modification, with a degree of substitution of 0.251. The results of UV, FT-IR, 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR analysis indicated that phthaloyl modification of polysaccharide was successful. Moreover, both elemental contents and thermal properties of the polysaccharide were changed after phthaloyl modification. Immunomodulatory activity evaluation revealed that compared with negative control group, LEP-2a and its derivative at high dose could remarkably increase the body weight, organ indexes, phagocytic index and half hemolysis value, promote splenocytes proliferation activity, improve the production of serum cytokines, such as interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and enhance the activities of acid phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase in cyclophosphamide-treated mice. They could also enhance the contents of T-SOD and GSH-Px while decrease MDA levels in cyclophosphamide-treated mice. Furthermore, PHEP-2a showed more significant effects than LEP-2a at the same dosage, indicating that phthaloyl modification was an effective way to enhance the immunomodulatory activity of the polysaccharide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Lachnum sp. exopolysaccharide (LEP-2a) was separated and purified by DEAE-52 cellulose and Sephadex G-100 chromatographic columns, with relative molecular weight of 2.3 × 10 4 Da. One- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance analysis combined with methylation analysis results revealed that LEP-2a was a galactomannan with a backbone structure composed of α-(1 → 3,4)- d -Man p , α-(1 → 2)- d -Man p , α-(1 → 2,6)- d -Man p and β-(1 → 3)- d -Gal p residues, which was substituted at O-3, O-4, O-2, O-6 by branches. Side chains were composed of α-(1 → 3,4)- d -Man p , α-(1 → 2)- d -Man p , α-(1 → 2,6)- d -Man p and β-(1 → 3)- d -Gal p terminated by terminal α- d -Man p . Activities researches enlightened that LEP-2a could play a role in reducing blood glucose as one α-glucosidase inhibitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichosanthes peel polysaccharide (TPP) was obtained from the aqueous extract of Trichosanthes peel by alcohol precipitation, deproteinization and decoloration. TPP was then separated and purified by Sephadex G-100 column to obtain the homogeneous component TPP-1 (1.2 × 10 5 Da). The compositions in monosaccharides were d -arabinose (Ara), d -mannose (Man), d -glucose (Glc) and d -galactose (Gal) with a molar ratio of 1.00:3.27:4.26:6.01. Its backbone was composed of 1,4,6-Gal p , 1,4-Gal p , 1,3,6-Man p and 1,4-Man p , while the branches comprised of 1,3-Ara f , 1-Ara f and 1-Glc p . Diabetic mice experiments showed that the blood glucose levels in hyperglycemia mice reduced by 22.47%, 15.38% and 12.72% after administration of high, medium and low doses of TPP-1, respectively. Compared with the negative control group, the contents of insulin and total superoxide dismutase of the hyperglycemia mice in groups treated with different doses of TPP-1 were increased significantly, while the contents of biochemical indexes including malondialdehyde, creatinine, triglyceride, total cholesterol low density lipoprotein cholesterin and blood urea nitrogen were decreased in different degrees. These results suggested that TPP-1 possessed strong hypoglycemic activity on streptozotocin-induced model mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A method for ultrasonic extraction of coix seeds polysaccharides (CSP) was optimized. • A newly neutral polysaccharide composed of α- d -glucopyranose with M W of 2141.831 kDa, 2.712 kDa and 0.334 kDa was found. • Contrast with hot water, the physicochemical property of CSP extracted by ultrasonic was analyzed. • Fraction CSP-A exhibited a stronger resistance to simulated digestion in vitro. To optimize the extraction of polysaccharides from coix seeds (CSP), an auxiliary method of ultrasound was developed by response surface methodology (RSM). The maximum extraction yield (8.340%) was obtained under 480 W power, 16 min ultrasound extraction (UE) time and 21.00 mL/g water to raw material ratio. Compared to hot water extraction (HE), UE-treated CSP led to a higher extraction efficiency and decreased average CSP molecular weight. FT-IR indicated that CSP extracted by UE and HE were neutral polysaccharides, and linkages between sugar units were mainly in the α-conformation. Furthermore, NMR spectra indicated that UE-treated CSP was a neutral polysaccharide with (1 → 6)-linked α- d -glucopyranose in the main chain. Two polysaccharide components (CSP-A and CSP-B) were purified by anion exchange chromatography, therein, CSP-A was more resistant to the digestion in stomach and intestine. These results suggest that CSP-A has the potential to be a functional agent utilized by gut microbes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]