Glycosaminoglycans from growing antlers of wapiti (Cervus elaphus)

Abstract

. 1997. Glycosaminoglycans from growing antlers of wapiti (Cervus elaphus). Can. J. Anim. Sci. 77: 715-721. The emerging wapiti industry in North America is based largely on markets for velvet antlers which are used in oriental medicine. Despite the economic opportunity, enthusiasm has been dampened by incomplete understanding of the chemical and pharmacological properties of velvet antler. This study characterizes polysaccharide constituents of glycosaminoglycans in growing antler of wapiti (Cervus elaphus). Glycosaminoglycans were isolated from four sections (tip, upper, middle and base) of growing antlers, and were studied using cellulose acetate electrophoresis, gel electrophoresis, enzymatic digestion and gel chromatography. The tip and upper sections of the antler which are rich in cartilaginous tissues contained chondroitin sulfate as a major glycosaminoglycan with small amounts of hyaluronic acid. In the middle and base sections containing bone and bone marrow, chondroitin sulfate was also a major glycosaminoglycan with small amounts of hyaluronic acid and chondroitinase-ACI resistant materials. More than half of chondroitin sulfate from the middle and base sections had larger molecular size than did the chondroitin sulfates from the tip and upper sections. Nord repose en grande partie sur le marché du bois en velours utilisé dans la médecine orientale. En dépit des possibilités économiques que ce marché semblait offrir, l'enthousiasme a été quelque peu refroidie par le manque de connaissances sur les propriétés chimiques et pharmacologiques du bois en velours. Nous avons cherché à caractériser les composantes polysaccharidiques des glycosaminoglycanes (GAG) dans le jeune bois du cerf wapiti (Cervus elaphus). Nous avons extrait les glycosaminoglycanes de quatre sections du jeune bois, soit l'extrémité, le haut, le milieu et la base puis nous les avons étudiés par électrophorèse sur acétate de cellulose, par électrophorèse sur gel de polyacrylamide, par digestion enzymatique et par chromatographie sur gel. Dans l'extrémité et la partie supérieure du bois, riches en tissus cartilagineux, le chondroïtine-sulfate était le principal glycosaminoglycane, complété de petites quantités d'acide hyaluronique. Le chondroïtine-sulfate était également le glycosaminoglycane dominant au milieu et à la base du bois, lesquels sont formés d'os et de moelle osseuse. Il était accompagné de petites quantités d'acide hyaluronique et de substances résistantes à la chondroïtinase-ACI. Plus de la moitié du chondroïtine-sulfate des sections médiane et basale du bois possédaient une taille moléculaire plus grande que les chondroïtines-sulfate de l'extrémité et de la section supérieure.

Chondroitin sulphate extracted from antler cartilage using high hydrostatic pressure and enzymatic hydrolysis

“…Highest yields of CS extracts were obtained by the HHP-EH process at 50 °C in 100 MPa for 4 h incubation time. The yields of CS found in the present study are much higher than those previously reported [30]. The antler CS fraction has no capability to form aggregates with hyaluronic acid and shows DPPH radical scavenging activity as a potential antioxidant constituent.…”

“…The results show that the catalytic effect of papain is accelerated by HHP, indicating that the optimal conditions of pressure, incubation time and temperature are obtained at 100 MPa for 4 h at 50 °C, respectively. As a result, the HHP-EH process shows that the extractability of CS is approximately 95% of total uronic acid in antler cartilage tissue as compared to less than 20% extractability from a previous report, which used papain for 24 h at ambient pressure on the 0.5 M sodium acetate soluble fraction from antlers [30]. The low extractability was mainly due to the multiple steps involved in isolating CS from antler cartilage with a high risk of CS loss.…”

Bone regeneration strategy inspired by the study of calcification behavior in deer antler

“…1 & 2; Tables S2 & S3). Sulfur detected in S1 (Table S2) should be mainly in the form of chondroitin sulfate (CS) [16][17][18][19][20]. The nature of CS that it could easily combine with a variety of mineral ions under physiological conditions, fulfills its important function in regulating growth and calcification of antlers [17][18][19]21].…”

“…In antlers, CS has been proved to remarkably contribute to the calcification (Table S2) [17][18][19]21]. In our in vitro experiments, CS was introduced into a gelatin gel system to mimic the in vivo collagenous matrix.…”

Analysis of gene expression in four parts of the red-deer antler using DNA chip microarray technology

“…The tip has been shown to possess several chemically active compounds, such as collagen, ash, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, and the amounts of many proteins and lipids decrease downward from the tip to the base (Sunwoo and Sim, 2000). The tip and upper section of the antler are rich in cartilaginous tissue (Sunwoo et al, 1997). Evidence from the histology studies showed sequential differentiation of the antler from the tip to the base .…”