| abstract |
A polysaccharide of Echinacea angustifolia roots, having molecular weight of 1.3x10<5 >Da and including rhamnose, arabinose, galactose and galacturonic acid in ratio 0.5:2.5:1.75:10.25, is recovered from spontaneous or cultivated Echinacea angustifolia roots by means process including the following steps: a) depriving the roots of non polysaccharidic constituents by extraction with solvent; b)extracting the polysaccharidic fraction from the roots as directly obtained from the preceding step; c) isolating the polysaccharide by chromatography of the polysaccharidic fraction. Due to its immune-stimulating properties, the polysaccharide can be used for the preparation of medicaments, food supplements or nutraceutical compositions to administer whenever it is desirable to strenghthen the immune system body defenses. |