• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1997

A complement system-activating (anti-complementary) polysaccharide was purified from the hot water extract of young stems of Cinnamomum cassia Blume. Crude polysaccharide fraction (CC-1) was prepared from the hot water extract of the young stems followed by methanol-reflux, precipitation with ethanol, dialysis, and lyophilization. The anti-complementary activity of CC-1 was decreased greatly by periodate oxidation, but was not changed by pronase digestion. These suggest that carbohydrate moiety may be related to the activation of complement system. According to its ionic strength CC-1 was fractionated first using cetavlon to give 4 fractions, CC-2, 3, 4 and 5. Among them CC-2 fraction was found to retain the highest activity and yield. CC-2 was separated to an unabsorbed neutral sugar portion (CC-2-I) and seven absorbed acidic sugar fractions $(CC-2-II{\rightarrow}CC-2-VIII)$ on DEAE-Toyopearl 650C (Cl-). CC-2-III showing higher anti-complementary activity and yield than those of other fractions, was further purified on the gel permeation of Sephadex G-100 and Sepharose CL-6B to CC-2-IIIa-3. CC-2-IIIa-3 was determined to have a homogeneity hy GPC (Sepharose CL-6B) and HPLC. Gel chromatography using standard dextrans gave a value of $2.4{\times}10^5$ for the molecular weight. The purified polysaccharide, CC-2-IIIa-3 consisted of arabinose, xylose, glucose, galactose, galacturonic acid and glucuronic acid in a molar ratio of 5.56 : 3.77 : 1.87 : 1.00 : 5.12 : 3.13 and contained no nitrogen.