Advances on Bioactive Polysaccharides from Medicinal Plants

Jian Hua Xie, Ming Liang Jin, Gordon A. Morris, Xue Qiang Zha, Han Qing Chen, Yang Yi, Jing En Li, Zhi Jun Wang, Jie Gao, Shao Ping Nie, Peng Shang, Ming Yong Xie

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

439 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In recent decades, the polysaccharides from the medicinal plants have attracted a lot of attention due to their significant bioactivities, such as anti-tumor activity, antioxidant activity, anticoagulant activity, antidiabetic activity, radioprotection effect, anti-viral activity, hypolipidemic and immunomodulatory activities, which make them suitable for medicinal applications. Previous studies have also shown that medicinal plant polysaccharides are non-toxic and show no side effects. Based on these encouraging observations, most researches have been focusing on the isolation and identification of polysaccharides, as well as their bioactivities. A large number of bioactive polysaccharides with different structural features and biological effects from medicinal plants have been purified and characterized. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the most recent developments in physiochemical, structural features and biological activities of bioactive polysaccharides from a number of important medicinal plants, such as polysaccharides from Astragalus membranaceus, Dendrobium plants, Bupleurum, Cactus fruits, Acanthopanax senticosus, Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, Aloe barbadensis Miller, and Dimocarpus longan Lour. Moreover, the paper has also been focused on the applications of bioactive polysaccharides for medicinal applications. Recent studies have provided evidence that polysaccharides from medicinal plants can play a vital role in bioactivities. The contents and data will serve as a useful reference material for further investigation, production, and application of these polysaccharides in functional foods and therapeutic agents.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)S60-S84
JournalCritical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
Volume56
Early online date13 Oct 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Jul 2016

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