Isolation and determination of mucilage polysaccharides from the bulb and leaves of the Allium chrysantherum species.

Mucilage polysaccharides costitute a structurally diverse class of biological macromolecules which are the basis for the different applications in the broad field of pharmacy and medicine.Some examples will be given for the so-called immune-modulating antitumor polysaccharides which have been shown to be prominent candidates for an adjuvant tumor therapy. In the present research, plant mucilages, has been isolated from the leaves and bulbs of Allium chrysantherum from important bulbous plants of iran(Liliaceae). Each organ was pretreated to remove interfering substances and the extracted mucilage (by cold and hot methods) was also purified from contaminants. The chemical composition of the mucilage was studied by analysing the hydrolysates quantitatively and qualitatively by TLC and GLC of their alditol acetate derivatives. Purified mucilages extracted from leaves and bulbs of Allium chrysantherum, were shown to be acidic polysaccharides, containing: glucose(65%),mannose (22%), galactose (12%) and glucoronic acid was also present in the leaf mucilage and the bulb mucilage of this species was composed of rhamnose (10%), mannose (12%)glucose (29%) and galactose was the predominant sugar (48.5%), glucoronic acid and galacturonic acid were also present. The findings of the present study suggest that two mucilages of the leaves and bulbs, containing acidic polysaccharide and hegsuses are the predominant sugars.