LAUSR

BACKGROUND Codonopsis pilosula and C. tangshen are both plants widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Polysaccharides, which are the primary active components of them, are thought to be in important for their extensive use. In this study, two neutral polysaccharide fractions of C. pilosula (CPPN) and C. tangshen (CTPN) were obtained by fractionation on a DEAE-Sepharose column and characterized. RESULTS It was confirmed that the neutral polymers CPPN and CTPN were β-(2-1) linked inulin-type fructans with non-reducing terminal glucose, and a degree of polymerization (DP) of 19.6 and 25.2, respectively. The anti-oxidant and prebiotic activities in vitro were assayed based on IPEC-J2 cell lines and five strains of Lactobacillus. Results from CPPN and CTPN indicated both effects of increasing the antioxidant defense on intestinal epithelial cells through enhancing cell viability, improving expressions oftotal antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), reducing the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH).The prebiotic activity of CPPN and CTPN was demonstrated by the promoting effect on Lactobacillus proliferation in vitro. The different biological activities obtained between the two fractions are probably due to the different DP and thus molecular weights of CPPN and CPTN. CONCLUSION The inulin fractions from C. pilosula and C. tangshen were natural sources of potential intestinal antioxidants as well as prebiotics, which will be valuable for further studies and new applications of inulin-containing health products. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.