Ma-Nuo-Xi Decoction (MNXD) is well-known in Tibetan medicine to be in line with the theory of treatment determination based on syndrome differentiation. However, the components responsible for its immunomodulating effect are unknown. In this study, three polysaccharide components-MNXD-P, MNXD-BD-P, and MNXD-AD-P-were isolated from MNXD and its basic and auxiliary prescription decoctions, of which MNXD-BD-P is composed of β-(1,4)-d-glucan and RG-I pectin, MNXD-AD-P contains mainly α-(1,4)-d-glucan and some amount of arabinogalactan and/or arabinorhamnogalactan, and MNXD-P contains components of both MNXD-BD-P and MNXD-AD-P. And treatment with these polysaccharides could significantly improve the host's specific and non-specific immunity, including cellular and humoral immunities, as well as promote recovery from myelosuppression in cyclophosphamide (CTX)-immunosuppressed mice. To our knowledge, this is the first report on chemical and immunoactivity study on polysaccharides from traditional Tibetan medicine compounds, which may provide a new idea for development of carbohydrate drugs from them.
Keywords: Cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression; Immunostimulating effect; Ma-Nuo-Xi decoction; Polysaccharide; Tibetan medicine.
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