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Tomato is a known functional food due to its content of bioactive compounds. Herein, polysaccharides were extracted from mucilage of tomatoes, and a purified fraction (PTOK) was analyzed by sugar composition, methylation, and NMR spectroscopy analysis. The results showed the presence of an arabinoxylan, having (1→4)-linked β-d-Xylp units in the main chain, which carried a low proportion of branching (∼5.6%), at O-2 and O-3 position, with side chains constituted by single Araf or Xylp units. Intraperitoneal administration of the arabinoxylan in mice significantly reduced the number of abdominal constrictions induced by 0.6% acetic acid and the inflammatory phase of nociception induced by 2.5% formalin, indicating that it had an antinociceptive effect on inflammatory pain models, amplifying the biological role displayed by arabinoxylans in the diet. Furthermore, this study reports the presence of an arabinoxylan in a dicotyledon plant, and also it is the first study of polysaccharides from mucilage of tomatoes.

A structural characterization of polysaccharides obtained by aqueous extraction of ripe pulp of the edible exotic tropical fruit named tamarillo (Solanum betaceum) was carried out. After fractionation by freeze-thaw and α-amylase treatments, a fraction containing a mixture of highly-methoxylated homogalacturonan and of arabinogalactan was obtained. A degree of methylesterification (DE) of 71% and a degree of acetylation (DA) of 1.3% was determined by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and spectrophotometric quantification, respectively. A type I arabinogalactan was purified via Fehling precipitation and ultrafiltration through 50 kDa (cut-off) membrane. Its chemical structure was performed by sugar composition, HPSEC, methylation, carboxy-reduction and (13)C NMR spectroscopy analysis. Intraperitoneal administration of the arabinogalactan did not reduce the nociception induced by intraplantar injection of 2.5% formalin in mice, but significantly reduced the number of abdominal constrictions induced by 0.6% acetic acid, indicating that fraction has an antinociceptive effect on the visceral inflammatory pain model., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Highlights: [•] A galactoarabinoglucuronoxylan was found in the pulp of tamarillo fruits. [•] The polysaccharide was composed of Xylp, Araf, Galp, GlcpA and 4-O-Me-GlcpA. [•] The galactoarabinoglucuronoxylan had a main chain branched only at O-2. [•] It showed an antinociceptive effect on inflammatory pain models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]