Protective effects of Ulva pertusa polysaccharide and polysaccharide‑iron (III) complex on cyclophosphamide induced immunosuppression in mice

A water-soluble polysaccharide was isolated from marine green algae Ulva pertusa and then chelated with iron to prepare the polysaccharide‑iron (III) complex. The immunomodulatory activities of sulfated polysaccharide and polysaccharide‑iron (III) complex were investigated through a mice immune-deficiency model. Cyclophosphamide (Cy) was utilized to establish mice immunodeficiency model. Both polysaccharide and polysaccharide‑iron (III) complex were proved to promote the proliferation of lymphocyte and enhance the activities of mice macrophages. In mice serum, the levels of cytokines including TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-10 restored and the contents of hemolysin were also found elevated after treatment with polysaccharide and its iron complex. Besides, it has been shown that both polysaccharide and polysaccharide‑iron (III) complex increased the contents of Hb, RBC and HCT in mice blood, and the effect of iron complex was better. All these results suggested that Ulva pertusa polysaccharide could be developed as a healthy function food. It was also noteworthy that the polysaccharide‑iron (III) complex showed no negative effect upon the immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharide. Instead, the polysaccharide‑iron (III) complex showed excellent hematopoietic capacity perhaps due to the supplement of iron.