Enzymatic Water Extraction of Polysaccharides from Epimedium brevicornu and Their Antioxidant Activity and Protective Effect Against DNA Damage

A protocol of enzymatic water extraction was developed to isolate antiradical and DNA damage inhibitory polysaccharides from Epimedium brevicornu (EbP) using single factor experiments and orthogonal test for the first time. Compared to conventinal heating extraction, enzymatic water extraction dramatically enhanced extraction yield, shortened extraction duration, reduced extractant consumption and decreased extraction temperature. Structural features of EbP were investigated by infrared spectroscopy. And some other physicochemical properties like solubility of EbP were identified. EbP obtained by enzymatic water extraction exhibited ability to scavenge DPPH center dot and ABTS(+center dot) radicals. Consistent with their free radical-scavenging activities, Epimedium polysaccharides possessed protective effect against plasmid DNA damage induced by oxidative stress. In summary, enzymatic water extraction seems to be a promising technique for separating Epimedium polysaccharides, which might act as a natural antioxidant or a chemopreventive agent due to their free radical-scavenging capacity and protective activity against DNA damage caused by oxidative stress.