Three acidic polysaccharides derived from sour jujube seeds protect intestinal epithelial barrier function in LPS induced Caco-2 cell inflammation model.

Normal intestinal epithelial barrier function plays a key role in the prevention of many diseases such as infectious enteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, etc. In this study, three novel acidic polysaccharides ZY-2, ZY-3 and ZY-4 were isolated from sour jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. Spinosa) seeds and purified by DEAE Sephrose Fast Flow gel. The molecular weight of ZY-2, ZY-3 and ZY-4 was 7.76 kDa, 10.71 kDa and 8.31 kDa respectively, mainly composed of different proportions of mannose, rhamnose, glucose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, galactose, xylose and arabinose. H NMR and Congo red experiment results showed that the three polysaccharides mainly contained both α-type and β-type glycosidic bonds with obvious triple helix structural traits. The polysaccharides could up-regulate the expression levels of occludin and ZO-1 in LPS-induced inflammation Caco-2 cells, and reduce IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β and TNF-α significantly. In conclusion, the acidic polysaccharides from sour jujube seeds exhibited great potential in protection intestinal epithelial barrier function through anti-inflammatory effects.