Extraction, characterization of Astragalus polysaccharides and its immune modulating activities in rats with gastric cancer

One major polysaccharide fractions, glucose, were isolated from the polysaccharides extract of Astragalus (AP), a valuable traditional Chinese medicine, using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and Sephadex G-100 chromatography. HPLC and IR methods were used for a qualitative and quantitative determination of from polysaccharides of Astragalus. The HPLC method was validated for linearity, precision and accuracy. The results indicated that polysaccharides of Astragalus is an α-(1 → 4)-d-glucan with α-(1 → 6)-linked branches attached to the O-6 of branch points. Bioactivity tests showed that polysaccharides of Astragalus is active for spleen lymphocytes proliferation. The polysaccharides also presented anti-inflammatory activities. These data together suggest that polysaccharides of Astragalus presents significant immune modulating activity, thus supporting the popular use of the polysaccharides in the treatment of gastric cancer diseases.