Sulfated modification and antioxidant activity of exopolysaccahrides produced by Enterobacter cloacae Z0206

Nine modification conditions were designed to sulfate exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by Enterobacter cloacae Z0206 by chlorosulfonic acid-pyridine (CSA-Pyr) method according to the orthogonal test and focusing on three affecting factors such as the ratio of CSA to Pyr, reaction temperature and reaction time. And nine sulfated derivatives with various degrees of substitution (DS) were obtained. Their antioxidant activities were evaluated in vitro, by scavenging abilities on superoxide radical and hydroxyl radical. The results indicated that sulfated derivatives of EPS showed noticeable effects on scavenging superoxide radical and hydroxyl radical compared with native one, and sulfated derivative with moderate DS of 0.60 showed highest antioxidant activities. The optimum sulfated conditions of EPS were the ratio of CSA to Pyr of 1:2, the reaction time of 2 h and reaction temperature of 70 °C.