Structural characteristics of a bioactive polysaccharide from Sorghum arundinaceum

Abstract

A polysaccharide, an α-D-glucan with an apparent molecular weight of 6.85 × 104, called PSa glucan, was isolated from fresh seeds of Sorghum arundinaceum by fractionation on Sephacryl S-300 HR and Sephadex G-25. Chemical and spectroscopic studies indicated that it has a highly branched glucan type structure composed of α-(1→4) linked D-glucopyranose residues with (1→3), (1→6) branching points, and a significant amount of α-(1→6) branching to α-(1→3) linked D-glucopyranose residues. The anti-inflammatory activity of the polysaccharide was performed using the capillary permeability assay.