Evaluation of the Pharmacological Activities of a Xylan from Corn Cobs

Xylans, polysaccharides abundantly derived from agricultural byproducts, have shown potential pharmacological properties, making them a subject of increasing research interest. This study aimed to expand the understanding of xylans’ pharmacological properties and relate them to their composition. A method combining ultrasound and alkaline media for xylan extraction from corn cobs (ERX) was used, resulting in a significant increase in final yield compared to other methodologies. The physicochemical characterization of ERX was carried out, and its antioxidant, cytotoxic, anticoagulant, and immunomodulatory properties were evaluated. ERX demonstrated significant antioxidant activity with metal-chelating properties and induced apoptosis in HeLa tumor cells (p < 0.0001). It also reduced nitric oxide (NO) production by activated macrophages and extended the blood coagulation time, as assessed by the APTT assay (p < 0.0001). Further fractionation of ERX using various organic solvents resulted in multiple xylan subfractions. Among them, the ethanol-derived subfraction E1.4 exhibited remarkable pharmacological activities, including metal-chelation, cytotoxicity against HeLa cells via apoptosis, reduced NO production (p < 0.0001), and prolonged coagulation times (p < 0.0001). E1.4 is heteroxylan with a molecular weight of approximately 100 kDa. These findings suggest that corn cobs could be a promising source of pharmacologically significant molecules, particularly the heteroxylan E1.4. Future studies should focus on the structural characterization of this xylan to understand the relationship between structure and biological activity and explore the therapeutic potential of E1.4 in vivo models.