Bingzhao Zhang1, Wei Kee Leung2, Yuanfeng Zou2, Wilfred Mabusela3, Quinton Johnson4, Terje E Michaelsen2, Berit Smestad Paulsen5. 1. School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; GIAT-HKU joint Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research (CSynBER), Guangzhou Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 511458 Nansha, Guangzhou, PR China. 2. School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. 3. South African Herbal Science and Medicine Institute (SAHSMI), University of Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa. 4. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, George, Southern Cape, South Africa. 5. School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: b.s.paulsen@farmasi.uio.no.
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Sutherlandia frutescens (syn. Lessertia frutescens) is an indigenous plant in Southern Africa and has been extensively studied from the ethnobotanical point of view. Amongst the various traditional uses, several illnesses involving the immune system have been reported. Due to some of the therapeutic effects observed, in relation to the traditional uses reported by the "khoi san" and "nama" people on cancer related illnesses, the plant has been given the local name kankerbos (cancerbush). Recently the plant has also been used amongst HIV/AIDS patients to stimulate the immune system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Leaves of Sutherlandia frutescens were extracted sequentially with ethanol, 50% ethanol/water, and water at 50 and 100°C. The polysaccharides were extracted with water and fractionated by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration to obtain enriched polysaccharide fractions. The bioactivities of the fractions were tested in the complement assay. Some of the fractions were treated with the enzyme pectinase, and the fragments thus produced were separated by gel filtration and their activities tested. Monosaccharide compositions and linkage analyses were determined for the relevant fractions. RESULTS: The leaves of Sutherlandia frutescens contain polysaccharides of the pectin type. Fractions from both the water extracts of 50 and 100°C were bioactive. Fractions chosen for further studies showed that the fragment with the highest M(W) after the pectinase treatment had a substantially higher biological effect than the parent molecules. Based on a comparison of the different fractions it was concluded that galactose-rich regions were important for the bioactivity, these being of the AGII and AGI type, with the latter probably being more important than the former. Fragments rich in xylose also gave higher activity than those without it. CONCLUSIONS: Our theory that the polysaccharides present in the leaves of Sutherlandia frutescens could be of importance as immunomodulating agents was confirmed. It was also shown that certain types of polysaccharides had a higher effect in the complement system than others. Thus both the water extracts obtained at 50 and 100°C contain interesting biologically active polysaccharides.
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Sutherlandia frutescens (syn. Lessertia frutescens) is an indigenous plant in Southern Africa and has been extensively studied from the ethnobotanical point of view. Amongst the various traditional uses, several illnesses involving the immune system have been reported. Due to some of the therapeutic effects observed, in relation to the traditional uses reported by the "khoi san" and "nama" people on cancer related illnesses, the plant has been given the local name kankerbos (cancerbush). Recently the plant has also been used amongst HIV/AIDSpatients to stimulate the immune system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Leaves of Sutherlandia frutescens were extracted sequentially with ethanol, 50% ethanol/water, and water at 50 and 100°C. The polysaccharides were extracted with water and fractionated by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration to obtain enriched polysaccharide fractions. The bioactivities of the fractions were tested in the complement assay. Some of the fractions were treated with the enzyme pectinase, and the fragments thus produced were separated by gel filtration and their activities tested. Monosaccharide compositions and linkage analyses were determined for the relevant fractions. RESULTS: The leaves of Sutherlandia frutescens contain polysaccharides of the pectin type. Fractions from both the water extracts of 50 and 100°C were bioactive. Fractions chosen for further studies showed that the fragment with the highest M(W) after the pectinase treatment had a substantially higher biological effect than the parent molecules. Based on a comparison of the different fractions it was concluded that galactose-rich regions were important for the bioactivity, these being of the AGII and AGI type, with the latter probably being more important than the former. Fragments rich in xylose also gave higher activity than those without it. CONCLUSIONS: Our theory that the polysaccharides present in the leaves of Sutherlandia frutescens could be of importance as immunomodulating agents was confirmed. It was also shown that certain types of polysaccharides had a higher effect in the complement system than others. Thus both the water extracts obtained at 50 and 100°C contain interesting biologically active polysaccharides.
Authors: Wei Lei; Jimmy D Browning; Peggy A Eichen; Chi-Hua Lu; Valeri V Mossine; George E Rottinghaus; William R Folk; Grace Y Sun; Dennis B Lubahn; Kevin L Fritsche Journal: J Ethnopharmacol Date: 2015-06-18 Impact factor: 4.360
Authors: Wei Lei; Jimmy D Browning; Peggy A Eichen; William R Folk; Grace Y Sun; Dennis B Lubahn; Kevin L Fritsche Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-08-30 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Shima Hassan Baien; Jana Seele; Timo Henneck; Christin Freibrodt; György Szura; Hani Moubasher; Roland Nau; Graham Brogden; Matthias Mörgelin; Mahavir Singh; Manfred Kietzmann; Maren von Köckritz-Blickwede; Nicole de Buhr Journal: Front Immunol Date: 2020-01-31 Impact factor: 7.561