Isolation, Purification, and Structural Characterization of Polysaccharides from Codonopsis Pilosula and Its Therapeutic Effects on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Vitro and in Vivo

Codonopsis pilosula is a famous edible and medicinal plants, in which polysaccharides are recognized as one of the important active ingredients. A neutral polysaccharide (CPP-1) was purified from C. pilosula . The structure was characterized by HPSEC-MALLS-RID, UV, FT -IR, GC-MS, methylation analysis, and NMR. The results showed that CPP-1 was a homogeneous pure polysaccharide, mainly containing fructose and glucose, and a small amount of arabinose. Methylation analysis showed that CPP-1 composed of -*1)-Fru f -(2-*, Fru f- (1-* and Glc p -(1-* residues. Combined the NMR results the structure of CPP-1 was confirmed as alpha-D-Glc p -(1 -* [2)-beta-D-Fru f -(1 -* 2)beta-D-Fru f -(1] 26 -* 2)-beta-D-Fru f with the molecular weight of 4.890 x 10 3 Da. The model of AML12 hepatocyte fat damage was established in vitro . The results showed that CPP-1 could increase the activity of SOD and CAT antioxidant enzymes and reduce the content of MDA, thus protecting cells from oxidative damage. Subsequently, the liver protective effect of CPP-1 was studied in the mouse model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by the high-fat diet. The results showed that CPP-1 significantly reduced the body weight, liver index, and body fat index of NAFLD mice, and significantly improved liver function. Therefore, CPP-1 should be a potential candidate for the treatment of NAFLD.