Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Effect of a D-galactose-rich Polysaccharide Extracted From Aloe vera Leaves

This work deals with studying the structure of a galactan extracted from Aloe vera Barbadensis Miller leaves harvested in Algeria (AVP). AVP was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy to identify functional groups confirming its polysaccharidic nature and analyzed by High-Pressure Anion Exchange Chromatography (HPAEC) to determine its composition as constituent monosaccharides. AVP was essentially composed of ᴅ-galactose (75.25%), ᴅ-glucuronic acid (10.82%), ʟ-rhamnose (6.52%), ʟ-arabinose (4.95%), ᴅ-galacturonic acid (2.16%) and ᴅ-mannose (0.28%). The total carbohydrate content (96.84%) was determined by a phenolsulfuric acid colorimetric assay and the protein content (2.85%) was measured by the Bradford method. The analysis of anti-inflammatory activity is based on the model of xylene-induced ear edema. The percentage reduction of ear edema obtained during the analysis of the anti-inflammatory activity of the AVP at doses 1%, 5% and 10% (m/v) are respectively 7.92%; 43.30% and 71.49%. The anti-inflammatory activity of AVP was found very close to that of pure Aloe vera Gel (AVG) used in Algerian medicine.