Polysaccharide from Pimpinella anisum seeds: Structural characterization, anti-inflammatory and laser burn wound healing in mice

The polysaccharide preparation from Pimpinella anisum seeds (PAP) was isolated and characterized to evaluate its laser burn wound-healing and anti-inflammatory activities in mice. The structure characterization of PAP by Infra-red spectrometry (IR), Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Gas chromatogram-Mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and colorimetric methods revealed an optimum yield of 8.84%, a high quantity of carbohydrate (64.75%) and low levels of lipids, protein and sulfate. Galactose (33.47%), β-d-Glucose (26.71%) and α-d-Mannose (18.21%) were the major monosaccharides components presenting in PAP, and a smaller amounts of β-d-Galactose, d-Fructose, α-d-Glucose, α-l-Galactose and arabinose were detected. PAP showed noticeable antioxidant and antibacterial properties. The anti-inflammatory activity of PAP in the carrageenan-induced paw edema model in mice, demonstrated by reduced edema and cellular infiltration, and oxidative stress markers in muscle tissue. A beneficial wound healing effect was also revealed. The topical application of PAP based gel on laser burn lesions accelerates wound contraction, the re-epithelization and remodeling phases after seven days of treatment. The results demonstrated that PAP is a novel promising source of natural wound healing and anti-inflammatory drugs. The high content and varied PAP monosaccharides seem to be responsible for the observed biological activities.