Isolation of Polysaccharides from Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) Shells and their Acute Toxicity and Influence on the Immune System

The acute toxicity and influence on the immune system of the melanin–polysaccharide complex and β-glucans isolated from horse chestnut shells (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) were studied. The β-glucans were obtained from the melanin–polysaccharide complex by separation and purification. The results indicated that the studied compounds were Class VI relatively harmless substances with an LD50 of >6,000 mg/kg. Results of the immunotropic activity testing showed that intragastric administration to animals of the polysaccharide complex and β-glucans at doses of 5 and 0.5 mg/kg stimulated humoral immunity. The numbers of antibody-producing cells per million spleen cells increased statistically significantly by 2.46 and 2.74 times, respectively. The test compounds also affected cellular immunity by increasing the number of nucleus-containing cells in the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and macrophages in peritoneal fluid.