Sulfation pattern of citrus pectin and its carboxy-reduced derivatives: influence on anticoagulant and antithrombotic effects.

Citrus pectin (CP), a polysaccharide composed of [→4)-α-D-GalpA-(1→]n, was submitted to one or four carboxy-reduction cycles, resulting in CP-CR1 and CP-CR4, which had 40% and 2% of GalpA units, respectively. The polysaccharides were chemically sulfated and their anticoagulant and antithrombotic effects determined. Sulfated polysaccharides (CP-S, CP-CR1S and CP-CR4S) had different anticoagulant activities, doubling APTT at concentrations of 28.