Finding of polysaccharide-peptide complexes in Cordyceps militaris and evaluation of its acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity

Finding of polysaccharide-peptide complexes in Cordyceps militaris and evaluation of its acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition enhances learning and cognitive ability for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Polysaccharideepeptide complexes were identified in Cordyceps militaris (CPSPs) and characterized for their AChE inhibitory properties. Three polymers (CPSP-F1, -F2, and -F3) were extracted and separated by ultrasound-assisted extraction and diethylaminoethanol (DEAE)eSepharose CL-6B column chromatography. Polysaccharideepeptide complexes were identified by DEAEeSepharose CL-6B column chromatography and highperformance gel-filtration chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectra, amino sugar composition analysis, and b-elimination reaction to identify polysaccharideepeptide bond categories. Separation of CPSP can increase AChE inhibitory activity from the crude polysaccharide of C. militaris. CPSP-F1 and CPSP-F2 exhibited half maximal inhibitory concentrations of 32.2 ± 0.2 mg/mL and 5.3 ± 0.0 mg/mL. Thus, we identified polysaccharideepeptide complexes from C. militaris and suggest CPSP has great potential in AChE inhibition bioassay.