RICH

: The presented study attempts to unveil and evaluate the antioxidant activity of a novel heteropolysaccharide separated from the roots of Myxopyrum smilacifolium (denoted as PS-MSR). The molecular weight of PS-MSR is found to be 1.88 × 10 4 Da and contains two principal sugars, which are D -glucose and D -fructose, in the backbone. Decoding the structure of the obtained PS-MSR sample has disclosed a novel polysaccharide for the first time. Indeed, the PS-MSR is composed of (1 → 3)-linked glucosyl units and (2 → 3)-linked fructosyl units. In addition, the 1D and 2D NMR spectra of the PS-MSR sample display the repeating unit of the isolated polysaccharide, [ → 3)- α - D -Glc p -(1 → 3)- β - D -Fruc f -(2 → 3)- β - D -Fruc f -2 → 3)-)- β - D -Fruc f - β -(2 → ] n . Interestingly, the PS-MSR sample exhibits outstanding antioxidant activity, signifying the potential utilization of the explored polysaccharide for antioxidant-based material.