Soviet and foreign researchers as a result of many experimental works have established a variety of biological activity that polysaccharides of plant origin have: antibiotic, antiviral, antitumor, antidote, and also noted their effect on reducing lipemia and atheromatosis of blood vessels. Polysaccharides of plant origin have a major role in reducing lipemia and vascular atheromatosis due to their ability to give complexes with proteins and lipoproteins of blood plasma. Some Soviet pharmacologists point out that the most promising direction of biological study of substances is the study of how polysaccharides affect viral diseases, on enzymes and on the course of peptic ulcer disease and gastritis (studies of apple, lemon pectin, carrageenin, polysaccharides from flax seeds, etc.).) (А. Д. Turova, A. С. Smooth).
Polysaccharides have their own special groups. These include gum, mucilage, pectin substances, inulin, starch, and fiber.
Camedi
.Gums (Gummi) are colloidal translucent, mostly adhesive substances of different chemical composition. Gum is based on polysaccharides with calcium, magnesium and potassium salts of saccharocamedium acids. In plants, gum is formed as a result of degeneration of cell walls, cell contents or intercellular substance, and sometimes entire tissue sections (cherry glue, Arabian gum or gummiarabic obtained from acacia, apricot, almond, plum and other trees). Gum is soluble in water and insoluble in alcohol. They ooze from natural cracks and notches in the trunks as a thick mass that gradually dries in the sun. Addition of Arabian gum in the amount of 10% to ACTH solutions during subcutaneous and intravenous administration to rats prolongs the duration of action and enhances 2-fold the effect of the hormone. Arabian gum not only potentiates the action of the hormone, but also directly has activity similar to ACTH, but the mechanism of action of the latter and Arabian gum on corticoidogenesis is different (A. Д. Turova, A. С. Gladkikh, 1965).
In medicine, gums are used as emulsifiers, enveloping and adhesive agents for the preparation of tablets and pills.
Sleeze
.Slimes found in plants are nitrogen-free substances, different in their chemical composition, similar to pectins and cellulose. Slimes and gum are very close, and it is not always possible to distinguish them precisely. Gum is usually referred to as a product collected as solid lumps, while mucilage is obtained by extraction with water. Slimes and gum due to their ability to form enveloping jelly and colloidal solutions are used as a softening and enveloping therapeutic agent, creating a protective cover of nerve endings of the mucous membrane of the pharynx, gastrointestinal tract, bronchioles and others. Used mucus for the treatment of patients suffering from colitis, enterocolitis, gastritis, ulcerative disease of the gastrointestinal tract, with poisoning by certain poisons, with respiratory diseases. They are also used externally in the form of cauterizations. Slimes help to slow down the absorption and longer action of drugs in the body, which is very important in therapy.
Of medicinal plants containing mucilaginous substances, we can point to linseed (5-12%), tubers of yatryshnika, chamomile apothecary, althea root, salep (up to 50%), cowpea scepterous, succession three-divided, seeds of plantain fleabane, leaves of plantain large, medium and lanceolate, flowers of linden heart-shaped, etc.
Pectins
.Pectins are from the Greek pektos, meaning coagulated, condensed. Pectins are part of the intercellular, gluing substance, they are closely related to gum and mucilage. Pectins are substances widely distributed in the plant world. The most important are pectins that are soluble in water. Aqueous solutions of pectins with sugar in the presence of organic acids form jellies that have adsorbing and anti-inflammatory action. As shown by the recent works of Soviet scientists (Prof. V.A. Kovalevsky and Prof. A.A. Kovalevsky). А. Д. Bezukhov, I. И. Khotin), pectin, gelatinous substances of plants bind strontium and cobalt, including radioactive isotopes, most of the pectin is not digested and is removed from the body along with harmful substances.
At the same time, pectins improve digestion, reduce the intensification of putrefactive processes in the intestine, neutralize poisonous substances, both entering the body from the outside and formed in the body, and thus improve the conditions of production in the intestine necessary for the body substances, in particular vitamins B group. Pectins promote the growth and vitality of beneficial bacteria, release toxic substances in the body and eliminate excessive amounts of cholesterol.
Pectins are used in the treatment of diarrhea. The pectin of apples inhibits the multiplication of Influenza A virus. Some scientists have also noted the antidote activity of pectin in mercury and lead poisoning. In rats poisoned with lead intravenously under the influence of intravenous administration of pectin the content of lead in their bones decreases. О. Г. Arkhipova et al. (1965) indicate that pectins of various origins in experiments on guinea pigs dramatically increase their excretion through the intestine and reduce the intensity of intoxication.
Pectins are found in large quantities in the fruits of forest strawberries, rose hips, cranberries, black currants, apples, lemons, oranges, fruits of calamus, etc.
Starch
.Starch, the end product of carbonic acid assimilation by plants, is deposited mainly in the tubers and fruits of plants, as well as in the seeds and stem core. Potato starch, as well as wheat, corn and rice starch are produced on an industrial scale in the USSR. The body makes glucose, the most digestible form of sugar, from starch. Starch is prescribed in the form of powder and ointments in pediatric practice and for skin diseases. The decoction is used internally and in enemas as an enveloping agent. It has been found that starch and dextrins of potato, rice, wheat and corn, when administered to rats for a long period of time, reduce the total cholesterol content in the liver and blood serum. Starch helps to increase the synthesis of intestinal bacteria riboflavin, which in turn is a precursor of some enzymes and coenzymes that accelerate the conversion of cholesterol into bile acids and their excretion from the body, which is of great importance in atherosclerosis. It has also been noted that starch promotes greater metabolism of bile acids.
Starch does not dissolve in cold water, but in hot water it forms a viscous solution that turns into a gelatinous form when cooled. Sometimes starch is used in diluted form as an enveloping agent for gastrointestinal diseases.
In experiment, rice, wheat starch and insulin when administered to rabbits with experimental hyperglycemia have been shown to delay its development, apparently by enhancing insulin secretion (1956).
Starch is especially rich in roots, rhizomes, tubers, and bark, where it accumulates as a reserve nutrient.
Starch is found in the roots and tubers of elecampane, chicory and dandelion. The insulin contained in them is used in the treatment of diabetes.
Fiber
.Fiber, or cellulose, is a complex carbohydrate belonging to the group of non-sugar-like polysaccharides, the main constituent of plant cell membranes. It was previously thought that fiber was not digested in the intestines. It has now been found that some types of fiber are partially digestible. It participates in various important functions of the body, mechanically affects the neuromuscular apparatus of the intestine, stimulates the motor function of the digestive organs, increases the secretion of juices necessary for digestion, gives porosity to food masses, provides access to food juices, improves digestion, increases the biological value of most food products. Fiber improves metabolism, normalizes the growth of putrefactive microbes in the intestine, is involved in creating the necessary environment for the vitality of beneficial microbes, contributes to the removal of excessive amounts of cholesterol and breakdown products and, therefore, is important for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis, hypertension, liver disease, etc.
Normalization of the gastrointestinal tract, in which fiber takes an active part, is known to be of great importance for the synthesis of some vitamins (B group, vitamin K) and, in particular, such a vital vitamin B12. It has been proven that in gastric diseases accompanied by delayed evacuation of food, there is a destruction of vitamin C in stagnant gastric contents.
И. И. Mechnikoff in his writings gives a number of facts, which, in his opinion, along with many others, indicate a close connection of arteriosclerosis with poisoning of the alimentary canal..
