Production, physicochemical characteristics, and in vitro biological activities of polysaccharides obtained from fresh bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) via room temperature extraction techniques

• Published in: Food chemistry 2021-02, Vol.337, p.127798-127798, Article 127798
• Main Authors: Yan, Jing-Kun, Yu, Yun-Bo, Wang, Chun, Cai, Wu-Dan, Wu, Li-Xia, Yang, Yan, Zhang, He-Nan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alpha-Amylases - antagonists & inhibitors; alpha-Glucosidases - drug effects; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Biological activity; Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.); Chemical Fractionation - methods; Momordica charantia - chemistry; Physicochemical characterization; Polysaccharide; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Polysaccharides - isolation & purification; Polysaccharides - pharmacology; Temperature; Three-phase partitioning; Ultrasonic-assisted extraction; Uronic Acids - analysis
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127798

•Polysaccharides (BPSs) were obtained from fresh bitter gourd by TPP and UAE methods.•TPP and UAE greatly affected the physicochemical and biological properties of BPSs.•BPS-W had excellent antioxidant, α-amylase and α-glycosidase inhibitory activities.•BPS-A with the lowest Mws showed the best bile acid-binding capacity among the BPSs. In this study, polysaccharides (BPSs) were obtained from fresh bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) by room temperature extraction techniques, including three-phase partitioning (TPP) and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) performed in different solvents. The results showed that the extraction methods had significant influence on the extraction yield, chemical composition, weight-average molecular weight (Mw), monosaccharide composition, preliminary structural characterization and microstructure of the BPSs. The BPS-W sample obtained from the bitter gourd residue via UAE in distilled water had a higher uronic acid content (24.22%) and possessed stronger antioxidant capacities and α-amylase and α-glycosidase inhibitory activities than BPS-C extracted with UAE in citric acid, BPS-A extracted with UAE in 1.25 mol/L NaOH/0.05% NaBH4, and BPS-J extracted from bitter gourd juice by TPP. Moreover, BPS-A, which had the lowest Mws, showed the best bile acid-binding capacity among the four BPSs. This study had great potentials for the preparation of bioactive polysaccharides from fresh vegetables.