Recent advances in polysaccharides from the genus Polygonatum: Isolation, structures, bioactivities, and application

The genus Polygonatum, a well-known homology plant of medicine and food, has confirmed several biological activities and great market utilization value. A growing number of researches have shown that polysaccharides are one of the primary bioactive components of the Polygonatum spp. and present multiple biological activities both in vitro and in vivo methods, such as antioxidant activity, immunity enhancement effect, anti-inflammatory effect, anti-osteoporosis effect, and treatment of diabetes mellitus. This review summarizes the available information on the approaches used for GPPs extraction, purification, and structural characterization, and discusses the diverse biological activities of GPPs to support their potential application value in the functional foods, pharmaceuticals field, and cosmetics areas. New valuable insights for future research regarding GPPs were also proposed in the fields of the natural production of bio-based functional materials, functional foods, and therapeutic agents.