Background: Allergic disease is a common clinical disease. Natural products provide an important source for a wide range of potential
anti-allergic agents. This study was designed to evaluate the
anti-allergic activities of the water-soluble
polysaccharides extracted and purified from Saposhnikoviae Radix (SRPS). The composition and content of
monosaccharides were determined to provide a material basis. Methods: An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established to determine the composition and content of SRPS. 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (
DNFB) induced a delayed-type
hypersensitivity (DTH) mouse model orally administrated SRPS for seven consecutive days. Ear swelling, organ index, and serum
IgE levels were observed to evaluate the
anti-allergic activities. Results: The UPLC-MS/MS analysis showed that SRPS was consisted of eight
monosaccharides including
galacturonic acid,
mannose,
glucose,
galactose,
rhamnose,
fucose,
ribose, and
arabinose with a relative molar ratio of 4.42%, 7.86%, 23.69%, 12.06%, 3.10%, 0.45%, 0.71%, and 47.70%, respectively. SRPS could effectively reduce ear swelling, a thymus index, and a serum
IgE levels. Conclusions: The method was simple, rapid, sensitive, and reproducible, which could be used to analyze and determine the
monosaccharide composition of SRPS. The vivo experiments demonstrated that SRPS may effectively inhibit development of
DNFB-induced DTH. SRPS is a novel potential resource for natural
anti-allergic drugs.