A rapid method for extraction, purification and structure analysis of chondroitin sulfate from six marine tissues

Abstract This study was designed to establish a strategy for the extraction, purification, and structure analysis of chondroitin sulfate (CS) in milligram amounts. Crude acidic polysaccharides were extracted from six kinds of marine animals by enzymatic hydrolysis and hexadecylpyridinium chloride precipitation and purified by Q Sepharose Fast Flow strong anion exchange column. The purification of each crude polysaccharide was completed within 1 h. The structure of the polysaccharides, i.e. their chemical characterization, functional group, molecular weight and monosaccharide composition, were analyzed by colorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonace and high-performance liquid chromatogrpahy, respectively. All polysaccharides were identified as CS. The oligosaccharide profile produced by enzyme hydrolysis of polysaccharides was determined by strong anion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatorgraphy. This method can be widely applied to the extraction and characterization of chondroitin sulfate from unknown raw materials, screening high-quality sources of functional polysaccharides, and laying a good foundation for the following study of the structure–function relationship of polysaccharides.