Advances on Pharmacological Activities and Chemical Structures of Polysaccharides from Medicinal Dendrobium Species

In this paper,advances on pharmacological functions and structure identification of polysaccharides from medicinal Dendrobium species at home and abroad were reviewed.Recent researches have shown that the polysaccharides from medicinal Dendrobium species have remarkable pharmacological functions,such as immunoregulation,antitumor,anti oxidation,hypoglycemic and anticataract activities.The chemical structures of several polysaccharides have also been elucidated.However,the pharmacological mechanisms of polysaccharides are still unclear.Further work should be put on the relationship between the structures of the polysaccharides and their pharmacological functions.