RESUMO
The presented study attempts to unveil and evaluate the antioxidant activity of a novel heteropolysaccharide separated from the roots of Myxopyrum smilacifolium (denoted as PS-MSR). The molecular weight of PS-MSR is found to be 1.88 × 104 Da and contains two principal sugars, which are d-glucose and d-fructose, in the backbone. Decoding the structure of the obtained PS-MSR sample has disclosed a novel polysaccharide for the first time. Indeed, the PS-MSR is composed of (1 â 3)-linked glucosyl units and (2 â 3)-linked fructosyl units. In addition, the 1D and 2D NMR spectra of the PS-MSR sample display the repeating unit of the isolated polysaccharide, [â3)-α-d-Glcp-(1 â 3)-ß-d-Frucf-(2 â 3)-ß-d-Frucf-2 â 3)-)-ß-d-Frucf-ß-(2â] n . Interestingly, the PS-MSR sample exhibits outstanding antioxidant activity, signifying the potential utilization of the explored polysaccharide for antioxidant-based material.