----- Aspidopterys obcordata fructan may have desirable effects on prevention and treatment of urolithiasis

Urolithiasis is generally treated with surgery. However, its high recurrence rate and high cost of treatment makes drug treatment particularly indispensable. In the Dai minority region of China, the perennial woody vine of Aspidopterys obcordata (Hei Gai Guan) has been used a folk medicine for treating urinary tract infection, cystitis and urinary tract stones and also treated as a drink for preventing kidney stones. However, the material basis and underlying mechanisms remain undefined.  

In a study published in Carbohydrate Polymers, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) evaluated an inulin-like polysaccharide purified from the aqueous extract of Aspidopterys obcordata for its inhibitory activity against calcium oxalate crystallization in vitro, in cells and in fruit fly models.They reported the isolation and biological evaluation of a 2.3 kD inulin-like A. obcordata fructan (AOFOS). 

A 2.3 kD inulin-like A. obcordata fructan (AOFOS) was isolated by size exclusion column chromatography and characterized by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-ion trap-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-IT-TOF-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HGPC). 

They further found that AOFOS significantly reduced the size of calcium oxalate crystals in Drosophila by inhibiting the formation of large size crystals and the generation rate of calcium oxalate crystals, as well as the COM crystallization.  

“AOFOS is expected to exert a desirable effect in the prevention and treatment of urolithiasis,” said XU Youkai of XTBG. 

Contact 

XU Youkai 

Key Laboratory of Tropical Plant Resources and Sustainable Use, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun 666303, Yunnan, China                       

E-mail:  xyk@xtbg.org.cn