Polysaccharides in natural products that repair the damage to intestinal mucosa caused by cyclophosphamide and their mechanisms: A review

Abstract

Cyclophosphamide (CTX) is a commonly used antitumor drug in clinical practice, and intestinal mucosal injury is one of its main toxic side effects, which seriously affects the treatment tolerance and prognosis of patients. Therefore, the prevention of intestinal mucosal injury is a research hotspot. Studies have shown that polysaccharides can effectively prevent and improve CTX-induced intestinal mucosal injury and immune system disorders. Recent research has elucidated the structure, biological function, and physicochemical properties of polysaccharides that prevent intestinal mucosal injury, and the potential mechanisms whereby they have this effect. In this paper, we review the recent progress made in understanding the effects of polysaccharides on intestinal mucosal injury and their protective mechanism in order to provide a reference for further research on the prevention of intestinal mucosal injury and the mechanisms involved in nutritional intervention.

Keywords: Cyclophosphamide; Intestinal microbiota; Intestinal mucosal injury; Mitogen-activated protein kinase; Polysaccharides; Secreted immunoglobulin A; Tight junction; Toll-like receptor 4; Transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B.