Isolation, Purification and Bioactivities of Polysaccharides from Irpex lacteus

Irpex lacteus has been widely used for treating chronic glomerulonephritis as a traditional Chinese medicine. Seven water-soluble polysaccharide fractions(ILN I, ILN II, ILN III, ILA I, ILA II, ILB I and ILB II) were isolated and purified from Irpex lacteus by hot-water extraction, deproteinization, decolorization, diethy laminoethyl(DEAE)-cellulose ion exchange and sephadex G100 chromatographies, respectively. The average molecular weights and monosaccharide composition of these polysaccharide fractions greatly differed from each other. The antitumor and antinephritis activities of the seven polysaccharide fractions were evaluated. It was found that ILN III displayed significant inhibition effects on both humar hepatocellular liver carcinoma(HepG2) and hentietta lacks(HeLa) tumor cells with IC50 values of 60.95 and 99.95 mu g/mL, respectively. ILA I exhibited significant inhibition effects on murine mesangial cells(HBZT-1) with an IC50 value of 185.06 mu g/mL. The inhibition effects of other polysaccharide fractions on these three cells were significantly different. These results suggest that the polysaccharide fractions isolated from Irpex lacteus have potential antitumor and antinephritis activities.