Partial degradation and biological activities of an antitumor polysaccharide from rice bran

A rice bran polysaccharide designated RON was subjected either to partial hydrolysis with formic acid or to partial degradation by ultrasonic irradiation. A significant change in the molecular size was also observed during simple chromatography of RON on a strongly acidic ion exchange resin, although the apparent molecular weight of RON had been assumed to be more than 1 x 10(6) daltons (Da). This fact indicates that RON exists as molecular aggregates, presumably mediated by metal cations. Degradation products with average molecular weights above ca. 1 x 10(4) Da which were obtained by any of the three methods still retained the following activities of RON: in vivo antitumor activity against Meth-A fibrosarcoma in mice by oral administration, and in vitro macrophage stimulatory effects to induce tumoricidal activity and interleukin 1 production. This molecular size was proven to be the minimum requisite for these activities because smaller fragments were scarcely active. The aggregation was characteristic of RON but not essential for its antitumor activity because definite, though slightly reduced, activity was exhibited even by the smaller fragments obtained after the ion exchange resin treatment.