Jiwani Shahwar Imran, Gillis Richard B, Besong David, Almutairi Fahad, Erten Tayyibe, Kök M Samil, Harding Stephen E, Paulsen Berit S, Adams Gary G
Queen's Medical Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Clifton Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK.
Solar and Photovoltaics Engineering Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Makkah 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Polymers (Basel). 2020 Jul 24;12(8):1650. doi: 10.3390/polym12081650.
Cucurbits are plants that have been used frequently as functional foods. This study includes the extraction, isolation, and characterisation of the mesocarp polysaccharide of . The polysaccharide component was purified by gel filtration into three fractions (NJBTF1, NJBTF2, and NJBTF3) of different molecular weights. Characterisation includes the hydrodynamic properties, identification of monosaccharide composition, and bioactivity. Sedimentation velocity also indicated the presence of small amounts of additional discrete higher molecular weight components even after fractionation. Sedimentation equilibrium revealed respective weight average molecular weights of 90, 31, and 19 kDa, with the higher fractions (NJBTF1 and NJBTF2) indicating a tendency to self-associate. Based on the limited amount of data (combinations of 3 sets of viscosity and sedimentation data corresponding to the 3 fractions), HYDFIT indicates an extended, semi-flexible coil conformation. Of all the fractions obtained, NJBTF1 showed the highest bioactivity. All fractions contained galacturonic acid and variable amounts of neutral sugars. To probe further, the extent of glycosidic linkages in NJBTF1 was estimated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS), yielding a high galacturonic acid content (for pectin polysaccharide) and the presence of fructans-the first evidence of fructans (levan) in the mesocarp. Our understanding of the size and structural flexibility together with the high bioactivity suggests that the polysaccharide obtained from has the potential to be developed into a therapeutic agent.
葫芦科植物常被用作功能性食品。本研究包括对[某种葫芦科植物]中果皮多糖的提取、分离和表征。通过凝胶过滤将多糖成分纯化得到三个不同分子量的级分（NJBTF1、NJBTF2和NJBTF3）。表征包括流体动力学性质、单糖组成鉴定和生物活性。沉降速度表明，即使在分级分离后仍存在少量额外的离散高分子量成分。沉降平衡显示各自的重均分子量为90、31和19 kDa，较高的级分（NJBTF1和NJBTF2）显示出自我缔合的趋势。基于有限的数据量（对应于3个级分的3组粘度和沉降数据的组合），HYDFIT表明其构象为伸展的半柔性卷曲。在所有得到的级分中，NJBTF1表现出最高的生物活性。所有级分都含有半乳糖醛酸和不同量的中性糖。为了进一步探究，使用气相色谱 - 质谱联用（GCMS）估计NJBTF1中的糖苷键程度，结果显示半乳糖醛酸含量高（对于果胶多糖）并且存在果聚糖——这是中果皮中果聚糖（左聚糖）的首个证据。我们对其大小和结构灵活性以及高生物活性的了解表明，从[某种葫芦科植物]中获得的多糖有潜力被开发成一种治疗剂。
