Structural features and hypoglycaemic effects of Cynomorium songaricum polysaccharides on STZ-induced rats

摘要

A water-soluble polysaccharide isolated from Cynomorium songaricum which is a traditional Chinese food was purified by Ultrahydrogel 500 gel filtration chromatography. The structural characterisation and hypoglycaemic activity of the purified polysaccharide fraction (CSPA) were evaluated. CSPA (M_w of 1.394 × 10~5 Da) was a heteropolysaccharide consisting of Ara, Glu and Gal. The conformation of CSPA was characterised as a compact chain of sphere-like structure in aqueous solution with a d_f value of 2.86. Linkage analysis and NMR (1D and 2D) revealed the presence of the following unit:rn→ 3)-α-araf-(1 → 3)-α-d-glcp-(1 → 4)-α-d-GalpA6Me-(1 →rnPharmaceutical experiments showed that the administration of CSPA could significantly decrease blood glucose levels, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine activities, and effectively increase serum insulin level and the content of liver glyco-gen in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Histopathology studies showed that the reduced islet cells were restored to near normal upon treatment with CSPA. The results suggest CSPA could be considered as a potential candidate for developing a new anti-diabetic agent.