Antitussive Activity of the Water-Extracted Carbohydrate Polymer from Terminalia chebula on Citric Acid-Induced Cough

Terminalia chebula, a medicinal plant, is widely used in the management of various diseases. As the water extract of its dried ripe fruit is a frequently used preparation, we decided to look for bioactive polysaccharide in this extract. We demonstrate that the obtained polysaccharide fraction, CP, contained a highly branched arabinogalactan protein having a (1 → 3)-, (1 → 6)- and (1 → 3, 6)-linked β-D-Galp together with (1 → 5)- and (1 → 3)-linked α-L-Araf and nonreducing end units of α-L-Araf. This polymer possesses strong antitussive property. Our results showed that the number of citric acid-induced cough efforts decreased significantly after the oral application of polysaccharide fraction in a dose of 50 mg kg(−1) body weight. Its antitussive efficacy was higher than cough suppressive effect of standard drug codeine. Therefore, traditional aqueous extraction method provides a major polysaccharide, which induces a pharmacological effect: this could represent an attractive approach in phytotherapeutic managements.