Structural characterization of a galactan from Dioscorea opposita Thunb. and its bioactivity on selected Bacteroides strains from human gut microbiota

Dioscorea opposita Thunb. is widely used as functional foods and traditional Chinese medicine in China for its activity of regulating function of spleen and stomach. Polysaccharides may contribute to the function of regulation. To investigate structure features and bioactivities of polysaccharides from D. opposita, the rhizome of D. opposita was extracted with boiling water, yielding crude polysaccharides DOP. A novel polysaccharide named DOP0.1-S-1 was isolated from DOP by further purification. The average molecular weight of DOP0.1-S-1 was 10,000 Da and the range was around 12,000 –1,200 Da. The carbohydrate content of DOP0.1-S-1 was 100% and no protein was detected. The monosaccharide analysis showed that DOP0.1-S-1 was mostly composed of galactose. Methylation and NMR spectra analysis indicated that DOP0.1-S-1 was a 1,4-β-galactan. Bioactivity test showed that DOP0.1-S-1 could promote the growth of B. thetaiotaomicron and B. ovatus and produce the short-chain fatty acids during the utilization of the polysaccharide.