麦冬作为传统中药之一，具有多种药用功效。麦冬中主要的化学成分有多糖、甾体皂苷、高异黄酮类等，而麦冬多糖是麦冬中的主要的有效药用成分之一，具有抗心肌缺血、降血糖、免疫调节、抗脑缺氧、抗过敏和平喘等药理作用。麦冬多糖其化学组成成分及其在麦冬中的含量随麦冬的产地不同而存在差异，如绵麦冬和浙麦冬中麦冬多糖是由不同的单糖组成。就麦冬多糖的提取、分离纯化、含量测定、化学组成、药理活性和结构修饰及其体内代谢相关研究进行总结，以便为麦冬多糖深入研究及开发成药食两用功能食品提供参考。

Ophiopogon japonicus, a Chinese materia medica, has a variety of pharmacological functions. The main constituents in O. japonicus are polysaccharides, steroid saponins, and high isoflavones. The O. japonicus polysaccharide (OJP) is the main medicinal component with various medical functions such as anti-myocardial ischemia, hypoglycemic, immune regulation, anti-allergy, and anti-asthma and so on. The chemical components and content of OJP in O. japonicus vary with the habitat change, such as the polysaccharides in O. japonicus from Zhejiang Province and Mianyang City, Sichuan Province are composited with different monosaccharides. The advance researches on the isolation, extraction, and purification, determination, chemical composition, structure modification, pharmacological activity, in vivo pharmacokinetics of OJP are summarized, which could offer some references for the further research and development of medicinal and edible function foods.