Breakthrough in polysaccharide absorption

SHANGHAI – At the 2013 International Symposium on Chemical Glycobiology held in Shanghai on June 30, Professor Ding Kan's research team members from Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIMM, CAS), released their latest findings on the oral absorption of polysaccharides in partnership with Infinitus.

Professor Ding's research team members discovered that Lentinan, an intravenous anti-tumor polysaccharide isolated from the fruit body of shiitake (Lentinula edodes), and some other Chinese herbal polysaccharides can be absorbed intact by the intestinal lining through clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Clathrin is a receptor site in the intestinal lining specific for certain Chinese herbal polysaccharides. Through this passage, polysaccharides can be absorbed into the blood and lymphatic systems, and then delivered to the whole body to exert their broad spectrum of biological and physiological functions.

Jointly hosted by the Consortium for Functional Glycomics and CAS, undertaken by SIMM, CAS, the three-day symposium was dedicated to promoting information exchange and cooperation on carbohydrate chemistry and glycobiology among global renowned research institutions and scientists, and fostering the development of glycosciences in China. Over 50 experts in the field of glycobiology from China and other countries participated and released their latest findings.

Professor Ding Kan presents findings on oral absorption of Chinese herbal polysaccharides

As one of the most abundant substances in nature, polysaccharides widely exist in animal cell membranes and the cell walls of plants and microorganisms. Many pharmacological and clinical researches have proved that polysaccharides, especially Chinese herbal polysaccharides, are a group of natural immunomodulators.

As early as 1961, Nature featured the topic of Lentinan's antitumor property for the first time, which aroused the scientific community's attention to polysaccharides. Since then, more and more therapeutic properties of Chinese herbal polysaccharides have been gradually verified, in terms of immune potentiation, antitumor, hypoglycaemic activity, anti-oxidation, anti-aging, anti-virus, protecting gastrointestinal system, and so on.

"Scientists have long proved that after oral administration polysaccharides can help regulate a person's immunity. But how it can be absorbed remained a controversial issue. The newly discovered clathrin-dependent endocytosis helps to clarify how polysaccharides fulfil their physiological properties. They enter the intestinal lining through clathrin, and then to the capillaries and finally to the different parts of the body. By different reactions with different receptors on cell surfaces, polysaccharides can then fulfil their properties," Professor Ding said.

"These findings give novel evidence concerning the effectiveness of the oral administration of Chinese herbal polysaccharides, and form a solid foundation for further clarification on polysaccharides' fulfilment of their therapeutic properties," he added.

As a collaborator of this research, Infinitus (China) has been advocating a uniqueAdidas