Antiinflammatory polysaccharide

Futher evidence for the importance of adhesion molecules as targets for antiinflammatory polysaccharides was provided by Dong and Murphy [74, 75]. They showed, using an in vivo mouse model that a glucuronoxylomannan from Cryptococcus neoformans inhibits leukocyte extravasation into sites of acute inflammation. They propose that binding to CD 18 (part of the cell adhesion molecule Mad) on human neutrophils is responsible for the observed inhibition of leukocyte migration. 

N. Griinewald, I. Groth, and S. Alban, Evaluation of seasonal variations of the structure and antiinflammatory activity of sulfated polysaccharides extracted from the red alga Delesseria sanguinea (Hudson) Lamouroux (Ceramiales, Delesseriaceae), Biomacromolecules, 10 (2009) 1155-1162. 

Particular attention has been paid to the antibacterial, antiviral, antiinflammatory and antifertility effects of Wikstroemia indica that contains abrmdant active constituents, including flavonoids, biflavonoids, coumarins, lignans, volatile oils, polysaccharides, etc. [66]... 

Chitosan, a biopolymer, has received ample attention and has been widely considered for micro- and nanoparticle preparation. It is the second-most abundant naturally occurring polysaccharide. Properties tike biodegradability, low toxicity and good biocompatibility make it appropriate for biomedical and pharmacological inventions and also for use in ophthalmology, anti-diabetic agents, antiinflammatory drugs and for immobilization of enzymes and proteins. 

The observation that several polysaccharides exert significant antiinflammatory activities also after parenteral administration, has stimulated investigations on the putative mechanism of action. From the results available so far, one can conclude that the polysaccharides interfere with the complement system and/or the cytokine release, whereas a significant influence on the arachidonic acid pathway can be excluded. 

The observation that several polysaccharides, e.g. polysaccharides of Achyrocline satureoides, at parenteral administration exert significant in vivo antiinflammatory activities, as measured in the rat paw edema model (Fig. 8), raises the question on their mechanisms of action. The great structural diversity of polysaccharides, ranging from linear glucans to highly branched acidic polygalacturonans, which were... 

Since Rocha e Silva et al. [76] have reported that a number of sulphated polymers show antiinflammatory potential, counter irritation has been discussed as one possible mechanism. Beside turpentine [71] and sulphated polysaccharides, a neutral glucan was also found to possess irritating and inflammation-inducing activity [77]. Most likely this class of polysaccharides also exhibits antiinflammatory effects in the carrageenan rat paw edema through counter irritation. This could be of great importance in acute animal inflammation models, since Ferreira et al. [78] demonstrated that counter irritant effects were able to reduce edema formation as early as 2 h after administration of the irritating substance. 

In conclusion, a lot of evidence points to the fact that immunological cells and humoral factors play a great role in the antiinflammatory activity of polysaccharides, but it is likely that other mechanisms of action discussed here are also involved. 

Wang WJ, Zhu XY (1989) The antiinflammatory and immunostimulation activities of S-4001, a polysaccharide isolated from Lei Wan Polyporus-Mylittae. Acta Pharm Sin 24(2) 151-154... 

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