Bioactive polysaccharides in different plant parts of Aconitum carmichaelii

Abstract

BackgroundAconitum carmichaelii is an industrially cultivated medicinal plant in China and its lateral and mother roots are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine due to the presence of alkaloids. However, the rootlets and aerial parts are discarded after collection of the roots, and the non‐toxic polysaccharides in this plant were less concerned than the alkaloids and poisonous features. In this study, five neutral and 14 acidic polysaccharide fractions were systematically isolated from different plant parts of A. carmichaelii, and their structural features and bioactivities were studied and compared.ResultsThe neutral fraction isolated from the rootlets was different from those isolated from the lateral and mother roots, consisting of less starch and more possible mannans, galactans, and/or xyloglucans, which was similar to those of the aerial parts. Pectic polysaccharides containing homogalacturonan and branched type‐I rhamnogalacturonan (RG‐I) were present in all plant parts of A. carmichaelii. However, more arabinogalactan (AG)‐II side chains in the RG‐I backbone were present in the aerial parts, while more arabinans followed by AG‐I/II were found in the roots. Various immunomodulatory effects determined by complement fixation activity and anti‐inflammatory effects on intestinal epithelial cells IPEC‐J2 of all polysaccharide fractions were observed.ConclusionThis study highlighted the diversity of polysaccharides present in A. carmichaelii, especially in the unutilized plant parts, and showed their potential medicinal values.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Chemical characterization and comparative analysis of different parts of Cocculus orbiculatus through UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS

“…Literature reviews reveal that common methods for comparing plant components in different parts include chemical fingerprinting, component isolation and purification, and UHPLC-MS analysis. 3,10,11 The UHPLC-MS method, due to its rapidity, high throughput, and ability to identify both known and unknown chemical components in natural products, has found widespread application. 11–13 In recent years, metabolomics has emerged as a rapidly advancing technology, contributing significantly to the understanding of biological metabolites and plant chemistry.…”

“…3,10,11 The UHPLC-MS method, due to its rapidity, high throughput, and ability to identify both known and unknown chemical components in natural products, has found widespread application. 11–13 In recent years, metabolomics has emerged as a rapidly advancing technology, contributing significantly to the understanding of biological metabolites and plant chemistry. 13–15 Common metabolomic techniques involve applying chemometric methods, such as principal component analysis and cluster analysis, to data collected from a range of analytical techniques, including liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance.…”