Preparation and antioxidant activities of cuaurbit polysaccharide.

Preparation and antioxidant activities of polysaccharide from cuaurbit were investigated. The crude polysaccharide was extracted by the hot water method. It indicated that the CaCl2 method excelled NaCl method in deproteinization. The cuaurbit polysaccharide was linked by the β-glycosidic and α-glycosidic bonds. It consisted of glucose, glucuronic acid, galactose, arabinose, xylose, and rhamnose. Moreover, the antioxidant test showed that cuaurbit polysaccharide had good antioxidant activity and would be a new natural antioxidant with good effect and high safety.