Protective effect of polysaccharide from Ligusticum chuanxiong hort against H2O2-induced toxicity in zebrafish embryo.

A protein-containing polysaccharide, LCP, showing strong antioxidant activity from the rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort was fractionated and purified. Its physicochemical properties were characterised by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), UV and IR analysis. The results showed that LCP was proteoglycan containing 85.7% total carbohydrate, 2.79% protein, 5.14% uronic acid, and four kinds of monosaccharides including xylose, glucose, mannose and galactose with molar ratios of 1.2: 7.8: 1: 2.1, respectively. The average molecular weight of LCP was 15.8 × 10⁴ Da. In addition, the results indicated that LCP exhibited good radical scavenging abilities. Furthermore, LCP partially attenuated the incidence of mortalities and pericardial edema in zebrafish embryos exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Moreover, LCP provided protection against H₂O₂-induced ROS generation and cell death in zebrafish embryo. These results indicated that LCP could be a potential approach for oxidative stress damage reversal.