Anti-inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities of Polysaccharide from Adansonia digitata: an in vitro Study

Abstract

The polysaccharide was obtained from Adansonia digitata (AD) and purified by gel permeation chromatography. Results of chemical and HPLC analysis, including one peak showed that was mainly composed of fructose and glucose (8:1), and its molecular weight was about 5.3×10 4 Da. The antioxidant effect was determined by many testes including radical scavenging, reducing power, metal chelation, superoxide anion radical scavenging and nitrite scavenging in-vitro. The investigation demonstrated that AD showed potential antioxidant activity in a concentration dependent response. AD at 300 and 600 µg/ ml showed 100% effect as chelator for radical, superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide and metal, therefor, it inhibited lipid peroxidation (100%) and nitric oxide formation (96%). Further, in some case the AD showed the highest antioxidant effect among the standards. The anti-inflammatory activities of polysaccharide at different concentrations were assessed by cyclooxygenase inhibition assay. The ability of the polysaccharide to inhibit cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2) was determined by calculating percent inhibition of hydrogen peroxide production. Both enzyme inhibited by polysaccharide and it was more efficient in inhibiting Cox-2 than Cox-1 at all concentrations; therefore, AD could be a potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory food supplement.