Ultrahigh pressure-assisted enzymatic extraction maximizes the yield of longan pulp polysaccharides and their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity in vitro

An extraction method employing ultrahigh pressure-assisted enzymatic treatment was developed and optimized by response surface methodology to increase the yield of longan pulp polysaccharides (LP-UE). A maximum polysaccharides yield of 8.55% was obtained under the optimal conditions of 407 MPa ultrahigh pressure maintained for 6 min with an enzyme to pretreated material ratio of 1:100, an enzymolysis time of 1.7 h and a water to pretreated material ratio of 42 ml/g. Subsequently, the physicochemical properties and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity of LP-UE were compared to those of longan pulp polysaccharides (LP) extracted by hot water (LP-H), ultrahigh pressure (LP-U) or enzymatic treatment (LP-E). Results demonstrated that the extraction yield, hexuronic acid content and AChE inhibitory activity of LP-UE was the highest among the four LP samples. LP-UE was primarily made up of arabinose, glucose, and galactose and was linked mainly by β-type glycosidic linkage. The FTIR spectrum of LP-UE was very similar to those of LP-H, LP-U, and LP-E. In summary, ultrahigh pressure-assisted enzymatic treatment is a more efficient technique for extracting LP with considerable improvement of both yield and memory enhancement function.