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Comparative characterization of physicochemical properties and bioactivities of polysaccharides from selected medicinal mushrooms

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology volume 100, pages 4385–4393 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Mushroom polysaccharides have been known to possess various pharmacological activities. However, information on their chemical and biological differences between mushrooms remains limited. In this study, we aimed to examine the differences in physicochemical characteristics of polysaccharides prepared from Antrodia cinnamomea (AC-P), Coriolus versicolor (CV-P), Grifola frondosa (GF-P), Ganoderma lucidum (GL-P), and Phellinus linteus (PL-P), followed by evaluating their inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Results showed that under similar conditions of preparation, the monosaccharide composition of polysaccharides varied between different mushrooms, and glucose was the predominant monosaccharide, followed by galactose and mannose. AC-P and GF-P contained the highest amount of (1,3;1,6)-β-d-glucans. The degree of branching of (1,3;1,6)-β-d-glucans in all polysaccharides ranged from 0.21 to 0.26, with the exception of GF-P (0.38). The molecular weights of different polysaccharides showed diverse distributions; AC-P, CV-P, and GF-P contained two major macromolecular populations (< 30 and >200 kDa) and possessed triple-helix conformation, whereas GL-P (10.2 kDa) and PL-P (15.5 kDa) only had a low molecular weight population without triple-helix structure. These polysaccharides showed different inhibitory potency on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan for partial funding of this study under grant number MOST 104-2622-B-002-006-CC2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chun-Han Su & Lean-Teik Ng

  2. Kang Jian Biotech Co., Ltd., Nantou, Taiwan

    Min-Nan Lai

  3. Ten-In Food Co., Ltd., Chiayi, Taiwan

    Ching-Chuan Lin

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  1. Chun-Han Su
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  2. Min-Nan Lai
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  3. Ching-Chuan Lin
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  4. Lean-Teik Ng
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Correspondence to Lean-Teik Ng.

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Su, CH., Lai, MN., Lin, CC. et al. Comparative characterization of physicochemical properties and bioactivities of polysaccharides from selected medicinal mushrooms. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100, 4385–4393 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-7260-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-7260-3

Keywords

  • Polysaccharides
  • β-Glucans
  • Physicochemical properties
  • Medicinal mushrooms