Isolation and Characterization of a Water-Soluble Polysaccharide from the Mycelia of Solid Cultured Agaricus blazei Murill

Isolation and Characterization of a Water-Soluble Polysaccharide from the Mycelia of Solid Cultured Agaricus blazei Murill

A fraction (CMEx-AH-${\beta}$) of water-soluble polysaccharides, showing selective antitumor activities, was isolated from the mycelia of solid cultured Agaricus blazei Murill by hot-water extraction, ethanol precipitation, and series of chromatography. Chemical characteristics of CMEx-AH-${\beta}$, were as follows: carbohydrate content, 48%; monosaccharide composition, Man:Glu:Gal (2:93:5); molecular weight, $2{\times}10^5$; uronic acid content, 6.2%. Fundamental structure of CMEx-AH-${\beta}$, was deduced as ${\beta}-(1\;{\rightarrow}\;6)$-D-glucan with ${\beta}-(1\;{\rightarrow}\;3)$-D-glucosidic side chains based on results of methylation and $^{13}C$ NMR spectroscopic analyses.