Active Polysaccharides in Plants
Active polysaccharide is not only a nonspecific immune enhancement agent, but also has the efficacy of antiseptic, anti-tumor, and anti-aging. It also has the biological activity of lowering blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood fat, and anti-inflammation.
Panax ginseng has long been recorded as traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years, studies have shown that ginseng polysaccharide is the main hypoglycemic active ingredient. 21 kinds of Panaxan isolated from Korean white ginseng, Chinese red ginseng, and Japanese white ginseng has a hypoglycemic effect.
The mucilage from Liliaceae, Lycoris, Dioscorea, Orchidaceae, podophyllotoxin, Liliaceae, mallow, and Herba plants has hypoglycemic activity. For example, the polysaccharides isolated from the seeds of the plantain grass, the polysaccharides isolated from the bark of the conical Hydrangea, and the yam polysaccharide isolated from the root of Dioscorea, have obvious hypoglycemic activity.
Generally speaking, the activity of plant polysaccharides is related to molecular weight, solubility, viscosity, and chemical structure. Because most of the structures of hypoglycemic polysaccharides have not been determined, there is not much literature about their structure-activity relationship.
How are polysaccharides stored in plants?
Plants store carbohydrates in long polysaccharide chains called starch, while animals store carbohydrates as the molecule glycogen. These large polysaccharides contain many chemical bonds and therefore store a lot of chemical energy.
What polysaccharides are produced by plants?
Three important polysaccharides, starch, glycogen, and cellulose, are composed of glucose. Starch and glycogen serve as short-term energy stores in plants and animals, respectively.
