Antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities of residue polysaccharides by Pleurotus citrinipileatus

The enzymatic-extraction residue polysaccharide (ERPS) from Pleurotus citrinipileatus was obtained, and its antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects were also investigated. Animal experiments indicated that the ERPS could reduce the levels of AST, ALT, ALP, TBIL, MDA and LPO, improve the activities of GSH-Px, SOD and CAT, decrease the inflammatory factor of CYP2E1, TNF-α and IL-6, and enhance the IL-10 levels, showing the potential protections against CCl4-induced injures. ERPS can improve liver fibrosis by reducing the level of pivotal cytokine TGF-β1. Western blotting results revealed that ERPS relieved the inflammatory response by increasing the I-κBα expressions in the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, the structural characteristics demonstrated that the ERPS was a typical β-type glycosidic pyranose with the weight-average molecular weight of 1.30 × 105 Da and the monosaccharide composition of Man, Rha, Glc, Gal, Xyl and Ara, GlcUA and GalUA. These results demonstrated that the ERPS might be suitable for functional foods and natural drugs for preventing the acute liver damage.