Crude polysaccharides
from
Spirulina platensis
(SP) were
isolated by maceration with a hot alkali solution and
further fractionated by DEAE-52 cellulose and Sephadex G-100 chromatography
into two purified fractions PSP-1 and PSP-2. The monosaccharide composition
analysis indicated that SP was mainly composed of rhamnose and glucose,
while PSP-1 and PSP-2 were composed only of glucose. The composition
analysis of PSP-1 and PSP-2 by HPLC, FT-IR, and NMR showed that PSP-1
and PSP-2 were branching dextran, and their structures were (1 →
4)-linked-α-D-Glcp as the main chain, and C-6 replaced the single
α-D-Glcp as the linear structure of the branch chain. The glucans
(SP/PSP-1/PSP-2) can significantly improve the phagocytic ability
of macrophages, enhance iNOS activity, promote NO production, and
increase IL-6 mRNA expression, so they may possess certain immunomodulatory
activity.