Purification, in vitro antioxidant and in vivo anti-aging activities of exopolysaccharides by Agrocybe cylindracea

The in vitro antioxidant and in vivo anti-aging activities in D-galactose-induced aging mice of exopolysaccharides (EPS) and its fractions (EPS-1, EPS-2 and EPS-3) by Agrocybe cylindraceas were investigated presently. The scavenging effects of EPS-2 on hydroxyl (HO) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals were 97.1 ± 4.25% and 90.23 ± 3.25%, while the reducing power reached 1.18 ± 0.08 at 120 mg/L, which were higher than EPS, EPS-1 and EPS-3 at 1000 mg/L. The EPS showed potential anti-aging activities via reducing the contents of malonaldehyde (MDA) and total cholesterol (TC), as well as increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities, and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Additionally, the monosaccharide analysis showed EPS contained rhamnose and glucose with the molar ratio of 2.8:1. These results demonstrated that EPS could be used as functional foods and natural drugs on preventing and mitigating the aging process.