Isolation, chemical investigation and antiviral activity of polysaccharides from Gracilaria corticata (Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta)

Polysaccharides were sequentially extracted from the agarophyte Gracilaria corticata. Chemical analysis combined with infrared spectroscopy showed that the cold water extracted material consists mainly of a high molecular weight sulfated galactan. Most of the sulfate groups are alkali labile and are...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Mazunder, Supata, Ghosal, Prodyut K., Pujol, Carlos Alberto, Carlucci, Maria Josefina, Damonte, Elsa Beatriz, Ray, Bimalendu
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2002
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/101330
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/101330
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Gracilaria corticata
Galactan sulfate
Agar
Anticoagulant activity
Anti-herpes simplex virus activity
Starch
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Description
Summary:Polysaccharides were sequentially extracted from the agarophyte Gracilaria corticata. Chemical analysis combined with infrared spectroscopy showed that the cold water extracted material consists mainly of a high molecular weight sulfated galactan. Most of the sulfate groups are alkali labile and are located at C-4 of the 1,3-linked D-galactose units and C-6 of the 1,4-linked L-galactose residues. The autoclaved extracts contain agar type polysaccharide having a high pyruvate content and a variable degree of methylation, but were contaminated with floridean starch. 1 H-NMR studies indicate that methoxyl groups, when present, occur at C-6 of the 1,3-linked D-galactose units and C-2 of the 1,4-linked L-galactose residues of agar polymer. Bioassays showed that a high molecular weight galactan sulfate, exhibited selective antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, likely due to an inhibition of the initial virus attachment to the host cell.