Acidic polysaccharide complexes from purslane, silver linden and lavender stimulate Peyer's patch immune cells through innate and adaptive mechanisms.

Three polysaccharide complexes (PSCs) were isolated from the aerial parts of common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), and the flowers of common lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) and silver linden (Tilia tomentosa Moench) by boiling water extraction and ethanol precipitation. The chemical composition and immunomodulating effects of isolated PSCs were characterized. The chemical characterization revealed that the three samples contain mainly pectic polysaccharides. They exhibited ex vivo intestinal immunomodulating activity through the murine Peyer's patch-mediated bone marrow cell proliferation test at 100μg/ml concentration. At the same time, they stimulated ex vivo human blood T-cell populations (CD4+/CD25+ and CD8+/CD25+), phagocytic leukocytes (CD14+ and CD64+ cells) and induced IL-6 production from human white blood cells and Peyer's patch cells. The herbal PSCs stimulated ex vivo ROS production from whole blood phagocytes and showed unspecific in vitro anti-proliferative activity against normal and A549, HeLa and LS180 tumor cells. This is the first report on immunomodulating studies of linden flower pectins and chemical and biological activity characterization of lavender polysaccharides. Our study demonstrates that similarly to purslane, lavender and silver linden herbal materials contain immunomodulating polysaccharides that could be useful for support of compromised immune system.