Structural Characterisation of a Polysaccharide from Radix Ranunculus Ternati

A water soluble polysaccharide, hb-1, with a molecular weight of 23,930, was isolated from radix ranunculi ternati. by hot water extraction, ethanol precipitation, deproteination, ultrafiltration and gel-filtration column chromatography. its sugar composition was determined by glc as glc, ara, and gal in a molar ration of 16.071: 2.722: 1. and the absolute configuration of glc was identified as d. smith degradation and methylation reaction showed the proportion of —1glc (a) was about 16%, —1glc4— (b) about 62%, ara14 2 (c) about 14%, and —1gal6— (d) about 8%. the repetitive unit was likely composed of 3 as, 3 cs, 13 bs and 1 d. together with the average molecular weight, it was predictable that hb-1 consisted of about seven of the repetitive unit. the inhibition activity of hb-1 on human glioma cell line sf188 was also measured, only to find it inactive.