Physicochemical properties and in vitro antioxidant activities of polysaccharide from Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. pulp

A water-soluble polysaccharide from Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (jackfruit) pulp (JFP-Ps) was purified and its physicochemical properties were investigated. The in vitro antioxidant activities of JFP-Ps was evaluated by measuring DPPH and OH radicals scavenging activities, as well as reducing power. The results showed that JFP-Ps contained 79.12% of total sugar, 5.83% of protein, 15.65% of uronic acid, and 15 kinds of amino acids with high levels of Asp, Glu, Val, Leu and Lys. JFP-Ps was mainly composed of Rha, Ara, Gal, Glc, Xyl and GalA, with an average molecular weight of 1668 kDa. FT-IR results showed the bands at the range of 1200–850 cm−1 suggested the presence of carbohydrates in JFP-Ps. The results of antioxidant activities showed that JFP-Ps exhibited strong DPPH and OH radical scavenging activities, with a relatively lower reducing power, suggesting that JFP-Ps can be exploited as effective natural antioxidant applications in medical and food industries.