Structural characterizations and anti-aging activities of a homogeneous polysaccharide derived from Coix seed-lactic acid bacteria fermentation

  • Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Sep 25;330(Pt 1):147879. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.147879.
Yating Cheng  1 ,  Shanshan He  2 ,  Zhihui Wei  2 ,  Yuxuan Meng  2 ,  Dun Su  3 ,  Xiaomin Li  3 ,  Shu Zhang  4 ,  Rong-Rong He  5 ,  Zifei Qin  6 ,  Qi Xiang  7
Affiliations
  • 1. State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, College of Life Science and Technology & College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China; Biopharmaceutical R&D Center of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Chinese Medicine & Disease Susceptibility/Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine &Disease Susceptibility/Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Universities Joint Laboratory for the Internationalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine/International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE)/Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Health Products/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China.
  • 2. State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, College of Life Science and Technology & College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China; Biopharmaceutical R&D Center of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
  • 3. Perfect Life & Health Institute, Zhongshan, Guangdong, China.
  • 4. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery Systems, Center for New Drug Research and Development, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
  • 5. State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, College of Life Science and Technology & College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China; Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Chinese Medicine & Disease Susceptibility/Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine &Disease Susceptibility/Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Universities Joint Laboratory for the Internationalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine/International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE)/Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Health Products/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China.
  • 6. Department of Pharmacy, Henan Province Engineering Research Center of Application & Translation of Precision Clinical Pharmacy, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 7. State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, College of Life Science and Technology & College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China; Biopharmaceutical R&D Center of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41005408 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.147879
Abstract

Coix seed, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, has been extensively used for its Anti-aging properties. However, the biological mechanism of its Polysaccharides remains unclear. This study systematically investigated the Anti-aging effects and mechanism of purified Coix seed polysaccharide (CP1) for the first time. The structural analysis revealed that CP1 mainly consists of glucose linked by α-(1 → 4) and α-(1 → 6) glycosidic bonds and has an average molecular weight of 8.855 kDa. Further, CP1 exhibited strong scavenging activity of approximately 55.85 % against 1,1-diphenyl-2-trinitrobenzohydrazine, 71.30 % against 2,2'-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazolin-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt, and 68.40 % against hydroxyl radicals. In Caenorhabditis elegans, CP1 significantly extended the lifespan by 3-5 days (p < 0.001) and increased the survival by 78 % under oxidative stress condition (p < 0.001). In addition, CP1 suppressed the activity of senescence-associated β-galactosidase in zebrafish (p < 0.001) and reduced DNA damage in human skin fibroblasts (p < 0.001). Mechanistically, CP1 mainly activates the p-AMPK/RICTOR/CREB3 pathway by interacting with PARP-1. Taken together, this study performs the structural characterization of a glucan polysaccharide from Coix seed and its Anti-aging effects in different models. These findings can provide a theoretical basis and candidate molecule for Anti-aging therapies.

Keywords
Anti-aging effect; Caenorhabditis elegans; Coix seed polysaccharide; P-AMPK/RICTOR/CREB3 pathway; Structural characterization; Zebrafish.
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