부산대학교 도서관

Increasing prevalence and pandemic risk of viral diseases urgently need the development of safe and effective treatment. The root of Sanguisorba officinalis (SO) has been traditionally used for infectious diseases. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the structure of polysaccharide isolated from SO that inhibits the infection of enterovirus 71 (EV71) causative agent for hand, foot, and mouth disease. The purified macromolecule (S-a3, 260.4 kDa) was a homogenous polysaccharide consisted of galacturonic acid (26.1%), galacturonic acid-6O-methyl ester (14.1%), glucose (20.2%), arabinose (18.3%), galactose (11.8%), and rhamnose (3.7%) residues. Linkage and NMR analysis exhibited that S-a3 consisted of different types of polysaccharides interlinked together including homogalacturonan, rhamnogalacturonan-I, 1,4-α-glucan, and arabinogalactan. S-a3 significantly inhibited cell death and viral gene expression in the EV71-infected Vero cell, and alleviated EV71-induced body weight loss, death, and paralysis in the hSCARB2 transgenic mice model. Importantly, S-a3 was non-toxic to cells and mice at the effective concentration. The antiviral effect of S-a3 was associated with disturbance of EV71 attachment on host cells. Our findings demonstrate that a polysaccharide of SO can be a safe and effective treatment for prevention of EV71 infection.