Purification, antioxidant activity and antiglycation of polysaccharides from Polygonum multiflorum Thunb

Polysaccharides, one of the most important constituents in Polygonum multiflorum Thunb, a famous Chinese medicinal herb, were isolated by DEAE-52, Sepharose 4B and Sephacryl S-300 column chromatography. Two polysaccharides (PMP-1 and PMP-2) were identified as homogeneous in molecular weight with HPLC. The molecular weights were 4.8 × 102 and 6.1 × 102 kDa, respectively. Antioxidant activity tests were performed with two polysaccharides at concentrations of 0.1–1.5 mg/mL. The results indicated that the inhibitory activity on oxidation and glycation exhibited a dose-dependent response. PMP-2 exhibited a much stronger antioxidant capacity against free radical, lipid oxidation and protein glycation. The IC50 values of PMP-2 were 0.47, 0.6 and 0.93 mg/mL for superoxide anion scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, and hydroxyl peroxide scavenging, respectively. The inhibitory ability of PMP-2 on lipid oxidation was most markedly in rat liver, followed by heart and kidney. Meanwhile, PMP-2 also showed satisfactory suppression of AGEs formation. This suggested that the polysaccharides present in PM can contribute to the biological effects.