Anti-diarrhoeal therapeutic potential and safety assessment of sulphated polysaccharide fraction from Gracilaria intermedia seaweed in mice

Biopolymer Extracted from Anadenanthera colubrina (Red Angico Gum) Exerts Therapeutic Potential in Mice: Antidiarrheal Activity and Safety Assessment

“…It can then be inferred that the inhibitory effects of RAG on castor oil-induced diarrhea could be due to inhibition of any of these mediators [56], which would affect the intraluminal fluid accumulation produced by castor oil. Studies by Araújo et al [32], Sousa et al [46], Leódido et al [47], and Bezerra et al [57] on the antidiarrheal actions of red algae-sulfated polysaccharides of G. cervicornis, H. musciformis, G. intermedia, and a heteropolysaccharide from cashew gum (Anacardium occidentale), respectively, showed a result similar to ours, using a similar technique. Our results showed a small difference in effect between the doses of 60 and 120 mg/kg, indicating a plateau effect towards 120 mg/kg.…”

“…Pretreatment with naloxone did not impair the effects of RAG (60 mg/kg) treatment (30.9% inhibition), although it prevented the activity of loperamide (Figure 4a). Therefore, the antidiarrheal effect of RAG is not dependent on an opioid mechanism and a similar result has been observed with polysaccharides extracted from red algae [45][46][47]. Thus, RAG may delay gastrointestinal transit by other mechanisms that modulate gastrointestinal motility.…”

“…Additionally, the determination of the solubility of RAG at different pHs was performed, and the results are provided in Table 1. RAG showed high solubility at all pH values tested, especially in acidic and basic media, corresponding with the pH found in certain regions in the gastrointestinal tract such as the stomach and the intestines [44], the main sites of action of polysaccharides tested by our research group [31,32,[45][46][47]. The structure of RAG is rich in hydroxyl (OH) groups (Figure 1a), which provides a high degree of hydration leading to greater biopolymer interaction with water and consequently greater solubility [48].…”

“…Some in vitro studies have shown that several compounds can act as analogue receptors or anti-adhesive agents for GM1, such as galactose derivatives [78], phenyl-ring containing galactose derivatives [79], sialyloligosaccharides (SOS) [80,81], sulfated polysaccharides [45][46][47]57], and biopolymers extracted from the trunk exudates of trees [32], and they may offer a promising alternative to conventional treatment strategies. All these compounds mentioned are structurally similar and contain galactose, and similarly, the chemical characterization of RAG reported that it contains 24.1% galactose in % weight [26,82].…”

“…In this study, to evaluate the acute toxicity of RAG, we followed the recommendations of OECD Guideline 423 (2001). According to this guideline, when information available in the literature about the substance suggests that toxicity or mortality is unlikely even at high doses, like polysaccharides, the limit test can be conducted [47,88]. The limit dose of 2000 mg/kg did not cause death or any toxic signs in treated mice.…”