IT was recently shown [Clutterbuck et al., 1934] that Penicillium Charlesii G. Smith, when grown on nutrient solutions containing glucose, produces two new polysaccharides, mannocarolose [Haworth et al., 1935] and galactocarolose, together with a number of new organic acids. The polysaccharides were isolated by precipitation from the evaporated metabolism solution with acetone, and the acids by...

Most of the natural polysaccharides have been used as food and pharmaceutical excipients due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility, low cost and easy availability. Diverse approaches such as etherification, crosslinking and graft co-polymerization can be used for the chemical modification of natural polymers. Grafting process is a suitable method to add new properties to a natural polymer...

In our previous studies, Salacia extracts demonstrated beneficial effects on the enteric environment of the rat, as represented by decrease in ammonia and other products decomposed by enteric microorganism. In the present study, we showed that the expression of immunologically relevant genes increased in the epithelium of the small intestine from the rat orally dosed with Salacia extracts. T-RF...

Multiple species of Dendrobium are widely used as Shihu, a well known Chinese herb, for medicinal purpose in China. Small molecules such as phenols, alkaloids and coumarins are obviously varied in different species of Dendrobium. But there are few reports on polysaccharides, one of major active components, from Dendrobium. In this study, polysaccharides from different species or locations of De...

Polysaccharide is used widely in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The main use is to give appropriate texture to the products. Thus the polysaccharides used in such way are called texture modifier. Here two important texture modifiers, gellan and tamarind xyloglucan are introduced. The former one is a microbial polysaccharide with gelling ability. Gelling ability makes gellan valua...

The seeds of Cassia Mimosa have been reported to be highly rich in mucilaginous matter. The preliminary screening of the seeds of the plants belonging to above mentioned genus has been conducted to locate a good source of polysaccharides. Cassia Mimosa ( Linn ), is commonly known as a “Horse Cassia” belongs to the family Leguminasceae ( Sub-family : Cesalpinaceae ). It is an ornamental and deci...

Hydroxyl radicals (*OH) may cause non-enzymic scission of polysaccharides in vivo, e.g. in plant cell walls and mammalian connective tissues. To provide a method for detecting the action of endogenous *OH in vivo, we investigated the products formed when polysaccharides were treated with *OH (generated in situ by ascorbate-H(2)O(2)-Cu(2+) mixtures) followed by NaB(3)H(4). Treatment with *OH inc...

Among the several delivery materials available so far, polysaccharides represent very attractive molecules as they can undergo a wide range of chemical modifications, are biocompatible, biodegradable, and have low immunogenic properties. Thus, polysaccharides can contribute to significantly overcome the limitation in the use of many types of drugs, including anti-cancer drugs. The use of conven...

In order to find bamboo leaves with high contents of bioactive polysaccharides, 32 samples were chosen to analyze their polysaccharide content by GC and sulfuric acid-anthrone colorimetric assays. Purified polysaccharides (BLPS) were separated from the four varieties P. nigra (Lodd.) Munro (PN), P. vivax McClure (PV), Chimonobambusa quadrangularis (Fenzi) Makino (CQ), and P. bambussoides cv. Ta...

Cordyceps taii, an edible medicinal mushroom native to south China, is recognized as an unparalleled resource of healthy foods and drug discovery. In the present study, the antioxidant pharmacological properties of C. taii were systematically investigated. In vitro assays revealed the scavenging activities of the aqueous extract and polysaccharides of C. taii against various free radicals, that...