This study investigated the purification, preliminary structure and in vivo immunomodulatory activities of polysaccharides from the spores of Cordyceps cicadae (CCSP). The crude CCSP was purified by diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-cellulose and Sephadex G-100 chromatography, affording CCSP-1, CCSP-2 and CCSP-3 with molecular weights of 1.79 × 106, 5.74 × 104 and 7.93 × 103 Da, respectively. CCSP-2 consisted of mannose and glucose, while CCSP-1 and CCSP-3 are composed of three and four monosaccharides with different molar ratios, respectively. CCSP-2 exhibited its ameliorative effects in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice through significantly increasing spleen and thymus indices, enhancing macrophage phagocytic activity, stimulating splenocyte proliferation, improving natural killer (NK) cytotoxicity, improving bone marrow suppression, regulating the secretion of cytokines and immunoglobulins, and modulating antioxidant enzyme system. These results indicate that CCSP-2 might be exploited as a promising natural immunomodulator.
Keywords: Cordyceps cicadae; cyclophosphamide; immunomodulatory; polysaccharide; spore.