Effects of Angelica sinensis polysaccharides on hemopoietic stem cells in irradiated mice

The effects of the polysaccha-rides isolated from the root of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels on hemopoietic stem cells in irradiated mice were studied with the colony-forming units assay. The administration of AnE;elica polysaccharides (300 mg/kg) 24 h and 30 min prior to irradiation increased the formation of endogenous colonies of the hemopoietic tissue on the surface of the spleen in irradiated mice. The drug did not enhance the radioresistance of the colony forming unit-spleen (CFU-S) and the colony forming unit-culture (CFU-C) in the bone marrow. However, it helped the recovery in varying degrees of the number of CFU-S and CFU-C after the irradiation with 4.0 Gy. Therefore, the radioprotective effects of Angelica polysac-charides on hemopoietic cells were one of the important factors in radioprotective action for mice.