In this study, the effect of mushroom extracellular polysaccharides on fatty acid composition and liver peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) expression in obese-diabetic rats was investigated, and distinguished the association among anti-obesity, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic properties. Extracellular polysaccharides from three different strains of Pleurotus tuber-regium w...

Polysaccharides are long carbohydrate molecules of monosaccharide units joined together by glycosidic bonds. These biological polymers have emerged as promising materials for tissue engineering due to their biocompatibility, mostly good availability and tailorable properties. This complex group of biomolecules can be classified using several criteria, such as chemical composition (homo- and het...

In order to search for sulfated polysaccharides in different invertebrate connective tissues and to examine their biological activities, we have isolated three types of polysaccharides from the body wall of the three sea cucumbers Holothuria edulis, Apostichopus japonicas and Holothuria nobilis. The physicochemical properties and anticoagulant activities of these polysaccharides were examined a...

Purpose: To review the nature, extent, bioactivities and clinical application of bioactive polysaccharides in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), especially as adjuvants in cancer treatment. Methodology: Literature Review. Findings: Many fungal and plant derived bioactive polysaccharides with a broad range of immunomodulatory activities are found in TCM. Some such polysaccharides have been deve...

Article history: Received on: 09/03/2013 Accepted on: 07/05/2013 Available online: 30/05/2013 Paris fargesii is a famous Chinese traditional medicinal plant used as antipyretic, antidotal, antiphlogistic and analgesic. This research aimed at the determination of the total polysaccharides contents in P. fargesii, which were collected from Baoxing country of Sichuan Province in order to get the o...

Ganoderma lucidum and Ganoderma sinense, known as Lingzhi in Chinese, are commonly used Chinese medicines with excellent beneficial health effects. Triterpenes and polysaccharides are usually considered as their main active components. However, the content of triterpenes differs significantly between the two species of Ganoderma. To date, a careful comparison of polysaccharides from the two spe...

Lycium barbarum is a widely used Chinese herbal medicine prescription for protection of optic nerve. However, it remains unclear regarding the effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides, the main component of Lycium barbarum, on in vivo proliferation of adult ciliary body cells. In this study, adult rats were intragastrically administered low- and high-dose Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (1 an...

Sedimentation constants at infinite dilution have been found to be 1.89 and 4.06 for the somatic and capsular polysaccharides, respectively, from pneumococcus Type III. Intrinsic viscosities have been determined for the somatic and capsular polysaccharides of pneumococcus Type III using the Ostwald viscometer. Molecular weights and dimensions have been calculated for the somatic and capsular po...

Characterization of the carbohydrates of pea (Pisum sativum) hulls, carrot and cabbage using both colorimetric and gas-liquid chromatographic techniques permitted a detailed investigation into the extent of digestion of differing types of fibre. These digestion studies were greatly aided by the development of a rapid bioassay employing starved adult cockerels. Total collection of undigested res...

CONTEXT Novel antimalarial agents are in demand due to the emergence of multidrug resistant strains. Ginseng, a medicinal plant with antiparasitic activity, contains components that can be used to treat the tropical disease malaria. OBJECTIVE Ginsenosides and polysaccharides are active components of ginseng. This study aimed to elucidate the ability of these compounds to inhibit the replicati...