Alcohol-soluble polysaccharide from Castanea mollissima blume: Preparation, characteristics and antitumor activity

CMBP was an alcohol-soluble polysaccharide extracted from Castanea mollissima blume. Our study aimed to investigate the preliminary structural characteristics and in vivo antitumor activity of CMBP. The contents of total sugar, protein and uronic acid in CMBP was 93.68%, 0.89% and 1.78%, respectively. GC and FTIR results suggested galactose and glucose were detected for CMBP (2.86 x 103 Da), while glucose was the dominant monosaccharide in CMBP and pyranose form and alpha- and beta-type glycosidic linkages were founded for CMBP. Meanwhile, CMBP could exhibite strong antitumor effects on 5180 tumor-bearing mice. The antitumor effects of CMBP were related to improving the immune response, which result from improving the levels of serum cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-2 and IFN-gamma), activating immune cells (macrophages, lymphocytes and Nit cells), adjusting the distribution of lymphocyte subsets. The H&E staining and cell cycle results indicated CMBP could induce tumor cells apoptosis and extensive injuries.