Broad spectrum bioactivity of a β-glucan rich heteropolysaccharide- Pestalopine isolated from endophytic fungi Pestalotiopsis chamaeropsis CEL6

A biologically potent exopolysaccharide (EPS); Pestalopine was produced by Pestalotiopsis chamaeropsis CEL6, an endophytic fungal isolate of Chloranthus elatior Sw. Pestalopine is composed of glucose, arabinose, fucose, rhamnose, and galactose in a molar ratio of nearly 10:1:2:2:4 having an Mw ∼ 3.29 x 10 5 Da. Pestalopine exhibited a radical scavenging effect and significantly increased antioxidant parameters (malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, reduced glutathione oxidized glutathione) in peritoneal macrophage cells in a concentration-dependent manner, with a maximum effect at 500 mg mL − 1 . Pestalopine is hepatoprotective in nature and improves the liver function profiles; - total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, hepatic enzymes- alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase of liver fibrosis induced (through Thioacetamide) male Wistar rats in comparison to control. Pestalopine-fed rats are reported to have higher counts of beneficial Lactobacillus sp. Present findings suggest that Pestalopine may have promise as a non-toxic exogenous antioxidant with hepatoprotective and probiotic efficacies.