Abstract:

The extraction of soluble polysaccharides from the whole herb of Talinum triangulare was optimized using onefactor-
at-a-time and L9 (34) orthogonal array design methods. The extraction efficiency of polysaccharides was investigated
as a function of temperature, time and solid-to-solvent ratio. The antitumor activity of the extracted polysaccharides was
evaluated by examining their effects on the proliferation of human cancer HepG2 cells using MTT assay and trypan blue
staining. Results indicated that the optimal conditions for extracting soluble polysaccharides from T. triangulare were
found as follows: extraction temperature of 100 ℃, extraction time of 2.0 h, solid-to-solvent ratio of 1:25 (g/mL) and 2
extraction cycles (repeated twice). The yield of polysaccharides under the optimized conditions was 14.99%. The extracted
polysaccharides exhibited a potent antitumor activity in vitro as indicated by their significant inhibition on the proliferation
of HepG2 cells and reduction of their survival in a concentration- and time-dependent manner.

Key words: Talinum triangulare, polysaccharide, extraction, antitumor activity