药用昆虫多糖的研究进展

中医以昆虫入药,在两千多年里积累了丰富的临床经验。近年来,随着天然药物研究技术不断的发展,昆虫多糖的生物学活性被不断发现,人们对于药用昆虫多糖的研究也越来越广泛和深入。本综述通过查阅近年来有关药用昆虫多糖的资料文献,从提取分离、结构研究、药理活性三个方面总结、分析了近年来有关药用昆虫多糖的研究成果,希望可以为相关研究人员提供借鉴。目前,昆虫多糖提取分离的方法包括水提醇沉法、碱液提取法和酶解法。尽管药用昆虫多糖的结构研究报道较少,但已发现,昆虫多糖的结构比植物多糖和真菌多糖更复杂,大多为蛋白聚糖,组成的单糖种类较多。昆虫多糖具有多种药理活性,在免疫调节、抗氧化、抗肿瘤、抗血栓及抗过敏等方面作用突出。

The Research Progress of Medicinal Insect Polysaccharides

ABSTRACT: Insects have been used as medicine in traditional Chinese medicine over 2000 years, accumulating rich clinical experi- ence. With the development of research techniques of natural medicine, more and more bioactivities of insect polysaccharides have been discovered. Therefore, recent studies on medicinal insect polysaccharides are becoming more widely and deeply than before. Based on related literature of medicinal insect polysaccharides published in recent years, the research findings in extraction and separation, struc- ture research, and pharmacological activities were summarized in this paper with the purpose of providing a reference for related re- searchers. At present, the methods of extraction and separation of medicinal insect polysaccharides include water extraction-alcohol pre- cipitation, alkaline extraction and enzymatic hydrolysis. Although there are less research reports on the structure of medicinal inset polysaccharides than on the extraction and separation, it has been found that the structures of medicinal insect polysaccharides are more complex than those of plant and fungal polysaccharides. The medicinal insect polysaccharides are mostly proteoglycans, and the compo- sitions of their monosacchairde are complicated. The insect polysaccharides possess many pharmacological activities including im- munoregulation, antioxidation, antitumor, antithrombus, antiallergy, etc.