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Abrus cantoniensis Polysaccharides (ACP) exhibit antioxidant activity and immune-regulatory functions. Abrus cantoniensis Hance widely distributed in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions of China. In this study, this research investigated the impact of phosphorylation modification on the biological activity of ACP, aiming to provide theoretical insights for its development. This research modified ACP through phosphorylation and evaluated changes in its in vitro antioxidant capacity, including free radical scavenging and resistance to cellular oxidative damage. Additionally, this research administered both native ACP and phosphorylated ACP (P-ACP) to mice to assess their protective effects against acute ethanol-induced oxidative injury. This research explored whether these effects were mediated through the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway and their influence on gut microbiota. Results revealed that phosphorylation significantly enhanced ACP's antioxidant capacity and protective effects (p < 0.05). P-ACP improved mice resistance to acute oxidative injury, mitigating the adverse effects of 50 % ethanol (p < 0.05). Moreover, both ACP and P-ACP are involved in modulating the expression of the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway and, to some extent, alter the composition of the gut microbiota in mice. In summary, phosphorylation modification effectively enhances ACP's antioxidant capacity and provides better protection against acute oxidative injury in mice., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Cyclophosphamide (CTX), a common anticancer drug, can cause a variety of side effects such as immunosuppression and intestinal mucosal injury. Polysaccharides are the major bioactive components of the roots of Millettia Speciosa Champ and have gained attention for their immunomodulatory activity. This study was designed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effect of Millettia Speciosa Champ polysaccharide (MSCP) on CTX-induced mice and the possible mechanism. The results showed that MSCP attenuated the CTX-induced decrease in body weight and immune organ indices in mice and promoted the secretion of immune-related cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, TNF-α, and IgG). Meanwhile, MSCP restored intestinal morphology, increased the ratio of villus height/crypt depth (V/C), and improved the number of goblet cells and mucins expression. At the mRNA level, MSCP activated the TLRs/MyD88/NF-κB p65 pathway and enhanced the expression of genes related to intestinal mucosal integrity (Occludin1, Claudin1, and MUC-2). In addition, MSCP as a prebiotic improved microbial community diversity, regulated the relative abundance of dominant microbiota from the phylum level to the genus level, restored CTX-induced gut microbial dysbiosis, and promoted short-chain fatty acid production in mice. Based on the present findings, MSCP may modulate the immune response depending on enhancing intestinal health, suggesting that MSCP holds promise as a promising immunostimulant in functional foods and drugs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Chen, Sun, Xu, Wu, Cui, Hao, Zhang, Zhou, Xu, Li and Si.)

In this study, Polygonum Cillinerve polysaccharide (PCP) was extracted, and characterized by high performance gel permeation chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy. The results showed that PCP was composed of glucose, it was α-D-glucan and the backbone of PCP was consisted of repeating units of (1→4)-α-D-Glucose. In addition, the antioxidant potential of PCP was assessed in vitro. The results showed that PCP had strong hydroxyl radical scavenging ability, some DPPH scavenging ability and good reducing power. Moreover, the results of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays showed that PCP at 15.625-0.975 μg/mL could significantly improve the level of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, and could significantly decrease the level of myeloperoxidase, malondialdehyde and xanthine oxidase in macrophages. These results indicated that PCP could potentially be developed as a natural antioxidant., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this study is to investigate the immunomodulatory activities of astragalus polysaccharide liposome (APSL) on murine peritoneal macrophages and bone marrow derived dendritic cells (DCs). The results showed that APSL not only significantly improved the phagocytosis of macrophages, the contents of IL-6 and IL-12, and the secretion of nitric oxide (NO) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in macrophages, but also promoted the proliferation of DCs precursor cells, enhanced the abilities of DCs on stimulating T-cell proliferation and presenting antigen, upregulated IFN-γ and IL-2 production of DCs, and improved the expression of CD80 and CD86 in DCs compared with astragalus polysaccharide (APS). These findings indicated that the immune-modulating activities of APS were remarkably enhanced after encapsulated with liposome, and liposome possessed the potential to act as effective drug delivery system. Moreover, it also provided the theoretical basis for further researching the mechanism of APSL on improving the immune response., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This study evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of ophiopogon polysaccharide liposome (OPL) on macrophages in vitro. The phagocytic activity, the secretion of nitric oxide (NO) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), the level of cytokines, chemokines and the expression of CD14 and MHC-II costimulatory molecules were measured. Results showed that OPL could significantly improve the phagocytic activity and the level of IL-1β, TNF-α, MCP-1 and MIP-1β, promote the secretion of NO and iNOS, and enhance the expression of CD14 and MHC-II costimulatory molecules in the peritoneal macrophages of mice compared with ophiopogon polysaccharide (OP). Altogether, these results suggested that OPL could activate macrophages, and the efficacy was significantly superior to OP. Therefore, OPL would be exploited in a potent immunomodulators. Moreover, it also provided the theoretical basis for further studying the mechanism of OPL on improving the immune response., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Build on our previous research, polysaccharides from the rhizome of Atractylodis macrocephalae Koidz (RAMPS), RAMPStp and RAMPS60c were prepared and the structural characterization and immune response of ND vaccine in chicken were investigated. Immune organ index, Lymphocyte proliferation, antibody titers, cell cycle distribution, and percentages of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells were determined. GPC analysis showed that the Mn of RAMPS with two peaks were 1.29×10(5) and 1.74×10(3), respectively. GC-MS analysis revealed that RAMPS was composed of glucose, mannose, arabinose, galactose, xylose, d-Ribose and rhamnose, with mass percentages of 66.39%, 21.24%, 5.64%, 2.65%, 2.30%, 1.15% and 0.64%, respectively. NMR spectroscopic analysis demonstrated that a preliminary structure of RAMPS was proposed as 1,3-linked β-d-Galp and 1,6-linked β-d-Galpresidues. In vivo test showed that RAMPStp and RAMPS60c could promote peripheral lymphocytes proliferation and entering into S and G2/M phases, enhance serum HI antibody titer and effectively improve the percentages of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in chickens vaccinated with ND vaccine at most time points. The actions of RAMPStp and RAMPS60c were stronger than that of Lev, and RAMPStp presented the best efficacy. These results indicated that RAMPStp and RAMPS60c characterize of the immune-enhancing activity and RAMPStp possessed the strongest activity. It would be anticipated as a component of new-type immunopotentiator., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study evaluated the immune-enhancing activity of polysaccharides from the rhizoma of Atractylodis macrocephalae Koidz (RAMPS) in vitro. Lymphocyte proliferation, cell cycle distribution, and percentages of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells were determined. Different concentrations of RAMPS were added to peripheral blood T lymphocytes. Results showed that RAMPStp and RAMPS60c could significantly enhance T lymphocyte proliferation individually or synergistically with phytohemagglutinin at most concentrations. The active sites of RAMPStp and RAMPS60c were then selected. Lymphocyte cell cycle distribution and percentages of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells were determined by flow cytometry. At most time points, RAMPS60c and RAMPStp could promote lymphocytes enter into S and G2/M phases. RAMPStp and RAMPS60c effectively improved the percentages of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. RAMPStp produced optimal effects. Therefore, RAMPStp could be used as a component of novel immunopotentiators., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study investigated the changes of the chemical components and cytotoxicity potency at 5 developmental stages of Pleurotus eryngii fruiting body. The carbohydrate and protein contents increased along the maturity of fruiting body while fat content decreased. By comparison, the polysaccharide-protein fractions had the highest antiproliferative effect on SGC-7901 and HepG-2 cells in vitro and increasing activity with growing maturity of P. eryngii fruiting body.The maturation process increased the protein content and acid property through the enhanced relative abundance of Asp, Thr, and Glu in polysaccharide-protein fractions. Further purification and electrophoresis identified that the polysaccharide-protein PEG-1with three subunits possibly was the target cytotoxical component. Our findings proved that mature fruiting body of P. eryngii containing these polysaccharide-proteins possessed highly nutritional values and therapeutical benefits.

As a Chinese folk health product, Abrus cantoniensis exhibits good immunomodulatory activity because of its polysaccharide components (ACP), and carboxymethylation of polysaccharides can often further improve the biological activity of polysaccharides. In this study, we explored the impact of prophylactic administration of carboxymethylated Abrus cantoniensis polysaccharide (CM-ACP) on immunosuppression and intestinal damage induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX) in mice. Our findings demonstrated that CM-ACP exhibited a more potent immunomodulatory activity compared to ACP. Additionally, CM-ACP effectively enhanced the abundance of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria in immunosuppressed mice and regulated the gene expression of STAT6 and STAT3 mediated pathway signals. In order to further explore the relationship among polysaccharides, intestinal immunity and intestinal flora, we performed a pseudo-sterile mouse validation experiment and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment. The findings suggest that CM-FMT and butyrate attenuate CTX-induced immunosuppression and intestinal injury. CM-FMT and butyrate show superior immunomodulatory ability, and may effectively regulate intestinal cell metabolism and repair the damaged intestine by activating STAT6 and STAT3-mediated pathways. These findings offer new insights into the mechanisms by which CM-ACP functions as functional food or drug, facilitating immune response regulation and maintaining intestinal health. [Display omitted] • Carboxymethylated Abrus cantoniensis polysaccharide (CM-ACP) can alleviate immunosuppression and intestinal injury. • CM-ACP can promote the enrichment of short-chain fatty acid producing bacteria in the intestine. • short-chain fatty acid producing bacteria and short-chain fatty acid can improve immune suppression and intestinal injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, ultrasound-assisted extraction of water-soluble polysaccharides from the Acanthus ilicifolius was optimized by using one-factor-at-a-time and Box–Behnken designs. A maximum polysaccharide yield of 2.46% was obtained under the optimized conditions of ultrasonic power of 150 W, temperature of 53 °C, extraction time of 50 min, and liquid to solid ratio of 35 mL/g. Results of UV, FTIR and molecular weights indicated that there were significant differences in structures of polysaccharides extracted with ultrasound assistance (UAE-ACI) and hot-water extraction (HWE-ACI) including monosaccharide compositions and ratios, and molecular weight distributions. Further analysis showed that UAE-ACI had a higher antioxidant activity in vitro than that of HWE-ACI possibly due to lower molecular weight and higher content of phenolics and protein fractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new polysaccharide (PSPJ) with specific molecular weight and monosaccharide compositions was isolated and purified from the water extract of Panacis Japonici Rhizoma (PJR). 16S rRNA analysis and untargeted metabolomic analysis were used to assess PSPJ's efficacy in averting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study indicated that PSPJ significantly reduced liver fat accumulation, the increase in blood lipids and ALT caused by HFD, indicating that PSPJ can prevent NAFLD. We demonstrated through cell experiments that PSPJ does not directly affect liver cells. The gut microbiota disorder and alterations in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) induced by the high-fat diet (HFD) were ameliorated by PSPJ, as evidenced by the analysis of 16S rRNA. In particular, supplementing PSPJ reduced the abundance of Turicibacter , Dubosiella , and Staphylococcus , and increased the abundance of Bacteroides , Blautia , and Lactobacillus. Untargeted metabolomic analysis shows that PSPJ improves liver metabolic disorders by regulating arachidonic acid metabolism, carbohydrate digestion and absorption, fatty acid biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism and retinol metabolism. The findings of our investigation indicate that PSPJ has the potential to modulate liver metabolism through alterations in the composition of intestinal bacteria, hence preventing NAFLD. [Display omitted] • PSPJ ameliorates HFD-induced obesity and hepatic steatosis in mice. • PSPJ does not directly affect liver cells. • PSPJ regulates gut microbiota disorders. • PSPJ regulates liver metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts HEG-5 is a novel polysaccharide-protein purified from the fermented mycelia of Hericium erinaceus CZ-2. The present study aims to investigate the effects of HEG-5 on proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of human gastric cancer cells SGC-7901. Here, we first uncover that HEG-5 significantly inhibited the proliferation and colony formation of SGC-7901 cells by promoting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at S phase. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis suggested that HEG-5 could decrease the expressions of Bcl2, PI3K and AKT1, while increase the expressions of Caspase-8, Caspase-3, p53, CDK4, Bax and Bad. These findings indicated that the Caspase-8/-3-dependent, p53-dependent mitochondrial-mediated and PI3k/Akt signaling pathways involved in the molecular events of HEG-5 induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Thus, our study provides in vitro evidence that HEG-5 may be taken as a potential candidate for treating gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]