Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are metabolites of probiotics that have gained wide interest recently. A strain of Lactobacillus
reuteri Mh-001with high exopolysaccharide (EPS) production abilitywas isolated, identified, andwere
used to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of the EPSs. Among the three unpurified EPSs, RAW246.7 murine
macrophages treated with 5 ppm of EPS 1 revealed the lowest tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) secretion
(325.32 ± 51.10 pg/ug DNA). The second lowest TNF- α secretion occurred with EPS 2 (701.12 ±
86.108 pg/ug DNA) from Mh-002. EPSs 4, 5, and 6 were further purified from EPS 1. Cells treated with 1 ppm
of EPS 4 had the lowest TNF-α secretion of all (209.20 ± 84.34 pg/ug DNA). The monosaccharide components,
EPS 4 and EPS 1, had the highest galactose content (45±2.75% and 39±2.75%, respectively). Themonosaccharide
percentages (galactose N rhamnose N glucose) were related to the anti-inflammatory activity of the EPSs. The
galactose content of EPSs enhanced their anti-inflammatory effects on the macrophages. These data indicate that
EPS possesses beneficial physiological effects such as anti-inflammatory properties, and themonosaccharide content
