Department of Immunology, Norman Bethune College of Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Nov 25;150(2):529-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.08.055. Epub 2013 Sep 13.
The fruits of Hippophae rhamnoides L., Lycium barbarum L., Lycium ruthenicum Murr. and Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. are traditional medicinal food of Tibetans and used to alleviate fatigue caused by oxygen deficiency for thousands of years. The present study focused on exploiting natural polysaccharides with remarkable anti-fatigue activity from the four Qinghai-Tibet plateau characteristic berries.
The fruits of Hippophae rhamnoides, Lycium barbarum, Lycium ruthenicum and Nitraria tangutorum were collected from Haixi national municipality of Mongol and Tibetan (N 36.32°, E98.11°; altitude: 3100 m), Qinghai, China. Their polysaccharides (HRWP, LBWP, LRWP and NTWP) were isolated by hot-water extraction, and purified by DEAE-Cellulose ion-exchange chromatography. The total carbohydrate, uronic acid, protein and starch contents of polysaccharides were determined by a spectrophotometric method. The molecular weight distributions of polysaccharides were determined by gel filtration chromatography. Their monosaccharide composition analysis was performed by the method of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) pre-column derivatization and RP-HPLC analysis. HRWP, LBWP, LRWP and NTWP (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) were orally administrated to mice once daily for 15 days, respectively. Anti-fatigue activity was assessed using the forced swim test (FST), and serum biochemical parameters were determined by an autoanalyzer and commercially available kits; the body and organs were also weighted.
LBWP, LRWP and NTWP were mainly composed of glucans and some RG-I pectins, and HRWP was mainly composed of HG-type pectin and some glucans. All the four polysaccharides decreased immobility in the FST, and the effects of LBWP and NTWP were demonstrated in lower doses compared with HRWP and LRWP. There was no significant difference in liver and heart indices between non-treated and polysaccharide-treated mice, but the spleen indices were increased in LBWP and NTWP (200mg/kg) group. Moreover, the FST-induced reduction in glucose (Glc), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and increase in creatine phosphokinase (CK), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), triglyceride (TG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, all indicators of fatigue, were inhibited by HRWP, LBWP, LRWP and NTWP to a certain extent while the effects of LBWP and NTWP were much better than that of HRWP and LRWP at the same dosage.
Water-soluble polysaccharides HRWP, LBWP, LRWP and NTWP, from the fruits of four Tibetan plateau indigenous berry plants, significantly exhibited anti-fatigue activities for the first time, through triglyceride (TG) (or fat) mobilization during exercise and protecting corpuscular membrane by prevention of lipid oxidation via modifying several enzyme activities. Moreover, it is demonstrated that LBWP and NTWP are more potent than HRWP and LRWP, which were proposed to be applied in functional foods for anti-fatigue and antioxidant potential.
沙棘、枸杞、黑枸杞和唐古特白刺的果实是藏民传统的药食同源品，数千年来一直被用于缓解缺氧引起的疲劳。本研究专注于从青藏高原的四种特色浆果中开发具有显著抗疲劳活性的天然多糖。
沙棘、枸杞、黑枸杞和唐古特白刺的果实分别从中国青海海西蒙古族藏族自治州（N 36.32°，E98.11°；海拔：3100 米）采集。采用热水提取法从果实中分离多糖（HRWP、LBWP、LRWP 和 NTWP），并通过 DEAE-纤维素离子交换层析进行纯化。多糖的总糖、糖醛酸、蛋白质和淀粉含量通过分光光度法测定。多糖的分子量分布通过凝胶过滤色谱法测定。采用 1-苯基-3-甲基-5-吡唑啉酮（PMP）柱前衍生化和反相高效液相色谱（RP-HPLC）分析方法测定单糖组成。HRWP、LBWP、LRWP 和 NTWP（50、100 和 200mg/kg）分别连续 15 天每天口服给药一次。采用强迫游泳试验（FST）评估抗疲劳活性，使用自动分析仪和市售试剂盒测定血清生化参数；同时称重动物的身体和器官。
LBWP、LRWP 和 NTWP 主要由葡聚糖和一些 RG-I 果胶组成，HRWP 主要由 HG 型果胶和一些葡聚糖组成。四种多糖均能减少 FST 中的不动时间，LBWP 和 NTWP 的效果在较低剂量下比 HRWP 和 LRWP 更显著。未处理组和多糖处理组之间的肝、心指数无显著差异，但 LBWP 和 NTWP（200mg/kg）组的脾指数增加。此外，FST 诱导的葡萄糖（Glc）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GPx）降低以及肌酸磷酸激酶（CK）、乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）、血尿素氮（BUN）、甘油三酯（TG）和丙二醛（MDA）水平升高，所有这些都是疲劳的指标，均被 HRWP、LBWP、LRWP 和 NTWP 一定程度上抑制，而 LBWP 和 NTWP 在相同剂量下的效果明显优于 HRWP 和 LRWP。
首次从青藏高原四种本土浆果植物的果实中发现，水溶性多糖 HRWP、LBWP、LRWP 和 NTWP 具有显著的抗疲劳活性，通过运动过程中甘油三酯（TG）（或脂肪）的动员，以及通过防止脂质氧化来保护细胞膜，从而改善几种酶的活性。此外，LBWP 和 NTWP 比 HRWP 和 LRWP 更有效，这为其在具有抗疲劳和抗氧化潜力的功能性食品中的应用提供了依据。
