Preparation of polysaccharides from Acanthopanax senticosus and its inhibition against irradiation-induced injury of rat

Acanthopanax senticosus grows in many provinces in china and has long been used as a traditional medicine in china. This paper reports on the extraction of polysaccharides from A. senticosus and its effect of irradiation-protection. 15 Gy X-rays irradiation was delivered to rats. Polysaccharides from A. senticosus were administered before and after irradiation to examine its inhibition against irradiation-induced injury. Results indicate that in comparison with non-irradiated controls, irradiation of 15 Gy resulted in a significant reduction of rats’ body weight (BW), food and water intake, white cell counts (WC), activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and increase of MDA level 10–20 days after being irradiated although after that these indexes start to slowly return to normal (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). Oral administration of polysaccharides from A. senticosus dose-dependently reduced the irradiation-induced injury on rats studied, showed a protective effect against irradiation-induced loss of BW, WC, food and water intake, reduce MDA level and raise antioxidase activity (SOD, GSH-Px) (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). It may be concluded that polysaccharides from A. senticosus possess good irradiation-protective effect.