RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Our study aims to determine whether response surface methodology can optimize the extraction of dietary fiber from Maixiansan. METHODS: A Box-Behnken design was employed to optimize the extraction parameters, including α-amylase concentration (X1: 0.3 - 0.5%), enzymolysis time (X2: 30 - 60 min) and NaOH content (X3: 1.0 - 5.0%), of dietary fiber from Maixiansan using an enzyme-alkali extraction technique. RESULTS: The optimal technological conditions were as follows: α-amylase concentration: 0.4%; enzymolysis time: 45 min; NaOH content: 4.0%. Under these conditions, the extraction yield reached 57.14%, which was well consistent with the predicted models with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9818. An evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity indicated that Maixiansan was able to significantly inhibit dextran sodium sulfate-induced ulcerative colitis in rats by increasing the concentration of short-chain fatty acids (acetate, propionate and butyrate), among which the butyrate content was significantly higher in the Maixiansan group than in the other groups. CONCLUSION: Our experiments showed that response surface methodology can optimize the extraction of dietary fiber from Maixiansan. Maixiansan could be explored as an anti-ulcerative colitis agent.