Isolation, characterization and bioactivities of the polysaccharides from Dicliptera chinensis (L.) Juss

The polysaccharides of Dicliptera chinensis (L.) Juss. (DCP-1 and DCP-2) were extracted and isolated using the methods of water extract-ethanol precipitate and sephadex column chromatography and characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and gas chromatography (GC), respectively. The antioxidant activity of DCPs was evaluated by scavenging activity of DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide anion and ABTS radical. Moreover, the anti-aging activity of DCP-2 was investigated using an aging model-induced by D-galactose (D-gal) in mice. The results show that the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of DCP-2 was 2 273Da with a narrow polydispersity index of 1.01, and it was a heteropolysaccharide and consisted of glucose, galactose, arabinose, rhamnose and mannose with a molar ratio of 3.20:2.54:1.69:1.58:1.00. DCP-2 had stronger antioxidant activity against DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide anion and ABTS radical, while DCP-1 had hardly any antioxidant activity and DCP had weaker antioxidant activity. Furthermore, DCP-2 can enhance antioxidant capacity and had anti-aging activity against D-gal induced aging mice. These results proposed that DCP-2 might be developed as a potential functional food with the activity of anti-aging.