Structural Elucidation of Immunomodulators, Acetylated Heteroglycan and Galactosamine, Isolated from Aloe arborescens Leaves.

Plant polysaccharides gained extended scientific attention for their immunomodulatory effect. However, few scientific studies structurally defined polysaccharides in relation to their biological modifier response. Therefore, the study explored the effect of structurally identified isolated macromolecules from Aloe arborescens against cytokine modulation (interferon [IFN-γ], interleukins [IL-2 and IL-12], and tumor necrosis factor [TNF-α]) in vitro. The structures were elucidated by GC, GPC, FT-IR spectroscopy, 1D NMR, COSY, HMBC, and HSQC. Two acetylated glucomannans (AANP4 and AAAP6), one deoxy-glucogalactan (AANP5), and one deoxy-N-acetyl-[1-4]-galactosamine (AANP2) were isolated. The results showed significant induction for all cytokines and the most potent component was AAAP6; acetylated phenolic glucomannan with a (1 → 3)-linked glucose-mannose and (1 → 4)-linked mannose backbone, which stimulated IL-12 by more than 10-fold compared with phytohemagglutinin (positive control). In conclusion, A. arborescens polysaccharides could be a landmark for development of effective immunotherapeutics against cancer and chronic inflammatory conditions.