Evaluation of Biological Activity of a Lepidium meyenii (Maca) Polysaccharide‐Zinc Complex

ABSTRACT Zinc, an important metal element in the human body, fulfills multiple biological roles, such as influence on cell division and differentiation. In this paper, a Maca polysaccharide‐zinc (MPS‐Zn) complex was prepared by water extraction and alcohol precipitation process. A granular MPS‐Zn complex with 0.2360 μg/mg Zn was obtained at 60°C and pH = 3.0 for 60 min. The antioxidant activities of this MPS‐Zn complex were evaluated by the free radical scavenging activity toward DPPH and ABTS. The rate of ABTS free radical scavenging of 4.0 mg/mL MPS‐Zn complex is equal to that of control group (vitamin C). The abilities of this complex against three cancer cell lines including breast cancer MCF‐7, colon cancer SW480, and liver cancer SMMC‐7721 were used to evaluate its antiproliferative activity by MTS assay. The results demonstrate that this complex has an inhibitory effect on the above cancer cell lines. Especially, the inhibitory effect of it on colon cancer SW480 is more effective than that of cisplatin. The toxicity of this complex on human normal pulmonary epithelial cell BEAS‐2B is lower than that of taxol and cisplatin. This complex has the potential use as the zinc‐containing nutritional food and/or anticancer drug.