Purification, Structural Characterization, and Antitumor Activity of a Polysaccharide from Perilla Seeds

Abstract

A previous study found that a crude Perilla seed polysaccharide (PFSP) fraction exhibited obviously antitumor activity; however, the structural characterization and antitumor properties of this polysaccharide remain unclear. In this study, the PFSP was extracted and purified via combined column chromatography, and the structure of a single polysaccharide fraction was characterized by methylation, IC, GC-MS, NMR, and AFM. The results demonstrated that the efficient antitumor polysaccharide fraction PFSP-2-1 was screened from PFSP with a relative molecular weight of 8.81 × 106 Da. The primary structure of the PFSP main chain was →1)-Araf-(5→, →1,3)-Galp-(6→, →1)-Galp-(6→, →1,3)-Araf-(5→ and →1)-Xylp-(4→, and that of the side chains was →1)-Arap, →1,3)-Galp-(6→, →1)-Araf and →1)-Glcp-(4→, →1)-Galp-(3→ and →1)-Glcp, leading to a three-dimensional helical structure. CCK-8 experiments revealed that PFSP-2-1 significantly inhibited the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro (p < 0.05), and its inhibitory effect positively correlation with the concentration of PFSP-2-1, and when the concentration of PFSP-2-1 was 1600 µg/mL, it showed the highest inhabitation rate on three hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG-2, Hep3b, and SK-Hep-1), for which the survival rates of HepG-2, Hep3b, and SK-Hep-1 were 53.34%, 70.33%, and 71.06%. This study clearly elucidated the structure and antitumor activity of PFSP-2-1, which lays a theoretical foundation for revealing the molecular mechanism of antitumor activity of Perilla seed polysaccharides and provides an important theoretical basis for the development of high-value Perilla.

Recent trends in extraction, purification, structural characterization, and biological activities evaluation of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton polysaccharide

“…Collectively, these results indicated that P. frutescens seed polysaccharide can inhibit the growth of tumor cells in vivo by enhancing the autoimmunity of mice. Li et al (53) found that a P. frutescens seed polysaccharide (PFSP-2-1) could significantly inhibit the growth of three types of hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2, Hep3b, and SK-Hep-1), and the inhibitory effect gradually increased with the increase of PFSP-2-1 concentration. It has been hypothesized that Ara and Xyl in PFSP-2-1 are some of the factors inhibiting the growth of liver cancer cells.…”

The development of nanocarriers for natural products

“…Plant polysaccharides, a diverse class of natural macromolecular polymers composed of aldoses or ketoses linked via glycosidic bonds (Meng et al, 2024), have various pharmacological activities, exceptional biosafety, and biodegradability (H. Li, Liu, et al, 2023). These polysaccharides are inherently rich in reactive chemical groups, such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amino groups, making them amenable to chemical modifications to enhance their hydrophobic properties (Atanase, 2021).…”