Baofu Huang¹ , Jianhui Li²

1 Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, China
2 Institute of Life Sciences, Jiyang Colloge of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Medicinal Plant Research, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 6   doi: 10.5376/mpr.2024.14.0030
Received: 06 Nov., 2024    Accepted: 15 Dec., 2024    Published: 30 Dec., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Huang B.F., and Li J.H., 2024, Chemical modification of Cordyceps polysaccharides and their antitumor activity, Medicinal Plant Research, 14(6): 358-370 (doi: 10.5376/mpr.2024.14.0030)

Cordyceps polysaccharides have been frequently mentioned in functional foods and cancer adjuvant therapy in recent years because of their immunomodulatory and anti-tumor activities. However, there are also many problems, such as poor water solubility and low bioavailability, which affect the actual application effect. This study systematically explored various chemical modification methods of Cordyceps polysaccharides (e.g., sulfonation, phosphorylation, selenization, acetylation and nanocarrier grafting), and analyzed the effects of these structural modifications on their anti-tumor activity. The results showed that as long as the modification is appropriate, such as the introduction of functional groups at specific sites, it can not only enhance its ability to induce apoptosis and immune activation, but also help improve tumor targeting and safety. In animal models, a variety of modified polysaccharides showed obvious tumor inhibition effects. In addition, we also discussed its potential as an anti-tumor drug candidate in combination with structure-activity analysis and several typical cases. Of course, from experiments to industry, there are still challenges such as production stability and clinical transformation. This study provides support for the integration of Cordyceps polysaccharides into combined treatment strategies and nano-delivery systems.

Cordyceps polysaccharide; Chemical modification; Antitumor activity; Structure-activity relationship; Immunomodulation; Nanodrug delivery