{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]],"date-time":"2026-09-12T05:06:34Z","timestamp":1789189594334,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Guangdong Province Regular University","award":["2022GCZX012"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022GCZX012"]}]},{"name":"Plant Natural Products Functional Components and Product Development Innovation Team","award":["2024KCXTD006"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024KCXTD006"]}]},{"name":"Guangdong Province Key Discipline Research Capability Enhancement Project","award":["2024ZDJS141"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024ZDJS141"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100021171","name":"Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["2026A1515010784"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2026A1515010784"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100021171","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"\u201cThirteenth Five-Year Plan\u201d for the National Key Research and Development Program","award":["2016YFD0400903"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2016YFD0400903"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["31471923"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31471923"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["32202120"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32202120"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["31471923"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31471923"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["32202120"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32202120"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Zhuhai College of Science and Technology \u201cThree Levels\u201d Talent Construction Project"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A water-soluble, low-molecular-weight polysaccharide fraction, designated OJP-2, was extracted from the roots of Ophiopogon japonicus; its structural characteristics and immunomodulatory activity in macrophages were subsequently investigated. OJP-2 exhibited a narrow apparent molecular weight distribution with an average molecular weight (Mw) of 3568 Da and was primarily composed of fructose (0.784) and glucose (0.208). Structural analysis\u2014integrating UV spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and 1D\/2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy\u2014revealed that OJP-2 is an inulin-type fructan. Its structure is characterized predominantly by \u03b2-(2\u21921)-linked Fruf chains and terminal \u03b1-D-Glcp residues, with potential signals indicating C-6-substituted Fruf units. In vitro immunological studies demonstrated that OJP-2 promoted nitric oxide (NO) production and enhanced the secretion of IL-6, IL-1\u03b2, and TNF-\u03b1 in RAW264.7 macrophages. Under LPS\/IFN-\u03b3 stimulation, OJP-2 induced non-monotonic changes in the CD86\/CD206 macrophage phenotype, with the most pronounced effects observed at a concentration of 50 \u03bcg\/mL. Furthermore, Western blot analysis showed that, compared to the Model group, treatment with OJP-2 resulted in a downward trend in the relative levels of p-p65\/p65 and p-I\u03baB\u03b1\/I\u03baB\u03b1 across the tested concentration range. Collectively, these findings indicate that OJP-2 modulates macrophage activation phenotypes and influences NF-\u03baB-related signaling pathways. Thus, OJP-2 is a candidate fructan for further investigation of immunomodulatory activity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31183194","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T14:11:22Z","timestamp":1789049482000},"page":"3194","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Structural Analysis of an Inulin-Type Fructan from Ophiopogon japonicus and Its Immunomodulatory Properties"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"given":"Henan","family":"Sun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519041, China"},{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519041, China"},{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Huiqiang","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519041, China"},{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Gaowa","family":"Saren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519041, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ke","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Sciences Division, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao 999078, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Wenzhong","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519041, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, Y., Chen, B., Zhang, H., Zhang, J., and Xue, J. 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