Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of pectic polysaccharide from oriental tobacco leaves was studied by orthogonal matrix method (L9(3)4). Furthermore, the crude polysaccharide was purified and two components (Fr-I and Fr-II) were obtained. FT-IR spectral analysis of the purified EPS revealed prominent characteristic groups. The monosaccharide composition analysis indicated the main composition between Fr-I and Fr-II was different. Furthermore, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated the degradation temperature (Td) of the Fr-I (215 oC) was higher than those of Fr-II (162 oC). Detected by the pyrolysis GC/MS, though the main kinds of pyrolysis products from both Fr-I and Fr-II were similar, the larger amount of heterocycle and aromatic compounds liberated after hydrolysis of Fr-II. Finally, On the basis of the antioxidant activity test in vitro, Fr-II has stronger antioxidant activities than Fr-I. The thermal behavior and antioxidant activity might be attributed to the configuration of the sugar units and chemical compositions.


Shaohua Liu, Peixin He, Zhaofu Tian, Xiaolan Li and Chunping Xu