Molecular properties and immunomodulatory activities of a water-soluble heteropolysaccharide isolated from Plantago asiatica L. leaves

This study aims at investigating physical–chemical properties of a water-soluble heteropolysaccharide from Plnatago asiatica L. leaves, and its immunomodulatory effects on macrophages RAW264.7 cells. Hot water-extracted crude polysaccharide from the plant leaves (PLLCP) was fractionated into four fractions by DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow eluted with 0.1–0.5 M NaCl solutions. The most abundant fraction (0.3 M NaCl elution), designated PLLP-2, was identified as a heteropolysaccharide with an average molecular weight (Mw) of 3.54 × 104 and composed mainly of Gal (34.4%), GalA (36.5%), Ara (10.1%) and Rha (8.4%). PLLP-2 was an acidic polysaccharide exhibiting inflaky curly aggregation with smooth surface. PLLCP and its main subfraction PLLP-2 displayed immunomodulatory activities by stimulating the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α and IL-1β in macrophage RAW264.7 cells. These results indicate that the main polysaccharide fraction purified from P. asiatica L. leaves is probably pectin, and have potential immunomodulatory function.