Comparative anti-inflammatory characterization of selected fungal and plant water soluble polysaccharides

beta-Linked water soluble polysaccharides are important bioactive components of mushrooms and plants, they possess various biological activities, such as anti-inflammation, immunomodulation, anti-tumor and others. This study aimed to examine the comparative anti-inflammatory effects of five different beta-linked water soluble polysaccharides from fungi and plants [i.e. Xylaria nigripes (XN), Grifola frondosa (GF), Lentinula lentodes (Len), Laminaria digitata (Lam) and Hordeum vulgare (BG)] in lipopolysaccharides-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Although the selected five polysaccharides showed different potencies in anti-inflammatory activity, XN exhibited the strongest inhibitory effects on NO, TNF-alpha and IL-6 production, and iNOS and COX-2 expression, whereas the inhibitory activity of BG was the weakest. Among the polysaccharides with beta-(1 -> 3, 1 -> 6) glucose linkages and triple-helix structures, the inhibition of GF and Len on TNF-alpha and IL-6 production was weaker than XN and Lam. This study concludes that the monosaccharide composition, glycosidic linkage and tertiary conformation were the main factors affecting the anti-inflammatory activity of polysaccharides, and polysaccharides with beta-(1 -> 3, 1 -> 6) glycosidic linkages possessed stronger anti-inflammatory activity than beta-(1 -> 3, 1 -> 4)-linked polysaccharides.