Abstract
Acharan sulfate (AS) is a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) prepared from the giant African snail,Achatina fulica. In this study, some biological activities of AS were evaluated on the basis of structural similarities to heparin/heparan sulfate and the biological functions of GAGs. We demonstrated that it exhibited strong immunostimulating activities as measured by carbon clearance test in mice andin vivo phagocytosis. It also exhibited a significant hypoglycemic activity in epinephrine (EP)-induced hyperglycemia as well as antifatigue effects by weight-loaded forced swimming test. And it showed hypolipidemic activities in cholesterol-rich mixture induced hyperlipidemia in rats. The above results indicate that AS has diverse biological activities and suggest therapeutically important target molecules.
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Shim, J.Y., Lee, Y.S., Jung, S.H. et al. Pharmacological activities of a new glycosaminoglycan, acharan sulfate isolated from the giant african snailachatina fulica . Arch Pharm Res 25, 889–894 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02977010
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02977010