摘要

In the present study, an edible corm of the plant Colocasia esculenta, commonly known as Taro was extracted with cold water (4 degrees C). Finally, 10.44 g (1.04%) of the crude polysaccharide (Taro-0) was obtained from Taro. The purified active compound (Taro-4-I) was isolated using DEAE-Sepharose FF and Sephadex G-100. The anti-complementary activity of Taro-44 (57.3 +/- 4.5%) was similar to that of polysaccharide K (used as the positive control). The molecular weight of Taro-44 was 200 kDa and it was a polysaccharide composed of 64.4% neutral sugars and 35.6% uronic acid. Taro-44 activated the complement system through the classical and alternative pathways. The treatment of peritoneal macrophages with Taro-4-I significantly increased the production of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in a dose-dependent manner. However, IL-12 production showed maximal activity at 56 mu g/ml and subsequently decreased. Splenocytes obtained from mice which were administered Taro-4-I intravenously showed a higher toxicity to Yac-1 cells compared to those obtained from untreated mice in a effector-to-target (E/T) ratio-dependent manner. The group treated with 50 mu g/ml Taro-44 showed a significantly increased toxicity to Yac-1 cells compared to the group treated with 500 mu g/ml Taro-4-I. The administration of Taro-4-I significantly inhibited the lung metastasis of B16BL6 melanoma cells. However, the group treated with 50 mu g/mouse Taro-4-I had a significantly lower number of tumors compared to the group injected with 500 mu g/mouse Taro-4-I.

  • 出版日期2013-2