Abstract

Codonopsis pilosula is an edible traditional Chinese medicine and has good immunomodulatory activities. Oligosaccharides were the important components of C. pilosula . This study focused on the extraction, separation, structural analysis and immunomodulatory activity of the oligosaccharides from C. pilosula (CPO). The yield of CPO was 14.3% and the sugar content was 92.7%. Structural analysis revealed that the monosaccharide composition of CPO was fructose and glucose and its average degree of polymerization (DP) was 2 (DP = 1–7). Moreover, CPO could promote the proliferation of RAW264.7 cells, enhance phagocytosis capability and increase the secretion of TNF-α, NO and IL-6 by triggering the MAPKs signaling pathway. These results showed that CPO was an important immunomodulatory component of C. pilosula and would be a potential immunopotentiator in functional foods and pharmaceuticals.