Aconitum kusnezoffii Reichb. has been used as traditional Chinese medicine over the last 2500 years, but its polysaccharides have been paid little attention by now. In the present study, a hot alkali extracted polysaccharide (AKP) from A. kusnezoffii Reichb. was characterized to be an alpha-(1 -> 3),(1 -> 4)-D-glucan with Mw 1.4 x 10(5) Da, of which (1 -> 3)-linked and (1 -> 4)-linked alpha-Glcp residues were in a ratio of 1:7. In vitro antioxidant testing indicated that AKP had significant ferrous ion-chelating ability, reducing power and scavenging effects on DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion, H2O2 and self-oxidation of 1,2,3-phentriol, suggesting that it should be explored as a novel natural antioxidant. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.