In this paper, the composition and biological activities of polysaccharides from Inula britannica flower IBP obtained by water extraction were investigated. The properties and chemical compositions of IBP were analyzed with HPLC and IR methods. The results showed that IBP consisted of two kinds of polysaccharides with the molecular weight of 3500 Da, 700 Da. IBP consisted of mannose, glucuronic acid, rhamnose, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, arabinose with a molar ratio of 4.1:1:1.4:2.7:14.6:6.3:7.9. The IR spectrum of IBP revealed the typical characteristics of polysaccharides and protein. IBP was administered orally at three doses [100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight] for 14 days to the diabetic mice induced by alloxan. The body weight, plasma glucose, serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and liver glycogen were evaluated in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic mice. IBP could dose-dependently significantly increase the body weight of diabetic mice, and reverse the decrease of plasma glucose, glycogen and the decrease of blood lipid of diabetic mice as compared to those in control group. These results indicated that IBP could be developed to a potential anti-diabetic drug in the future.
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