Preparation and sulfation of an α-glucan from Actinidia chinensis roots and their potential activities

In this study, one homopolysaccharide (ACPA1) with a molecular weight (Mw) of 5.5   ×   10 3   g/mol was prepared from the roots of Actinidia chinensis . It was characterized as an α- d -glucan consisting of predominant 4-linked α- d -Gl cp residues branched at O-6. Three sulfated derivatives of ACPA1 (SA1, SA2 and SA3) with different degrees of sulfation (DS) were obtained by SO 3 -pyridine procedure. Moisture-preserving tests demonstrated that the sulfated derivatives with the highest DS values, SA1 and SA2, exhibited better moisture-preserving abilities than ACPA1 and SA3. All sulfated derivatives exerted stimulatory effects on phagocytosis activity and nitric oxide production by RAW 264.7 macrophages while ACPA1 did not. These findings suggested that the sulfated derivatives of ACPA1 might be used as moisture-preserving or immunopotentiating reagents.