Activity diversity structure-activity relationship of polysaccharides from lotus root varieties

The in vitro activities of 39 polysaccharides from different parts of 13 lotus root varieties were evaluated and introduced into multiple linear regression analysis to explore the structure-activity relationships using their chromatographic fingerprint features as independent variables. Their 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl/hydroxyl radical scavenging abilities, ferric reducing antioxidant powers and growth-inhibitory effects against HepG2 and SGC7901 cancer cells were all diverse, with the variable-coefficients ranging from 24.49% to 87.76%, while their macrophage immunostimulatory activities evaluated by nitric oxide production and tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion showed relatively low variations. Lotus root polysaccharides (LRPs) from the peels and nodes possessed stronger activities than those from the fleshes. Their fingerprint-activity relationship models indicated that monosaccharide composition was closely related to the activities, but not molecular weight. LRPs have health-improving potentials, and their activities can be partly predicted by the quantitative fingerprint-activity relationship model.