Bioactive plant polysaccharides from Japanese and Chinese traditional herbal medicines

Varoius pharmacological activities have been observed in pectic polysaccharides and pectins from hot water exreact of imedicinal herbs including Kampo (Japanese herbal) medicines. Therefore studies on bioactive polysaccharides are important for elucidation of efficacy of herbal medicines and development of new carbohydrate medicines. The present paper deals with recent studies on bioactive plant polysaccharides from Japanese and tradtional herbal medicines, and include results on anti-ulcer and mitogenic activity of pectins from Bupleurum falcatum, intestinal immune system modulating polysaccharides from the rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea and IL-6 production enhancing activity of rhamnogalacturonan II dimers from leaves of Panax ginseng.