| 초록 |
The root bark of Ulmus dividana var. japonica is a traditional medicine in Korea for inflammatory disorders. Although various hydrophobic compounds of the extract have been extensively explored, the bioactivity of water-soluble compounds is still veiled. In this study, pectin from the root bark of Ulmus dividana var. japonica (PPU) was obtained by hot water extraction and ultrasonication process. PPU consists of homogalacturonan and rhamnogalactronan (RG) regions, which indicates a typical pectin structure. Particularly, PPU has a large amount of galactose unit compared to that of ordinary pectins. We hypothesize that such a galactose-rich structure is a main structure of RG domain, which plays an important role in immune activity. Murine macrophages were significantly activated by PPU treatment, showing M1 marker upregulation. These findings suggest that PPU is a promising material as a natural immunomodulator. |
