A novel branched αβ-glucan isolated from the basidiocarps of the edible mushroom Pleurotus florida

• Published in: Carbohydrate polymers 2008-07, Vol.73 (2), p.309-314
• Main Authors: Santos-Neves, Juliana C., Pereira, Maria Izabel, Carbonero, Elaine R., Gracher, Ana Helena P., Alquini, Giovana, Gorin, Philip A.J., Sassaki, Guilherme L., Iacomini, Marcello
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; chemical composition; chemical structure; Edible mushroom; Exact sciences and technology; extraction; extracts; fruiting bodies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; glucans; Microbiology; Morphology, structure, chemical composition; mushrooms; Mycology; Natural polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; Pleurotus florida; Polysaccharides; Starch and polysaccharides; αβ-glucan
• ISSN: 0144-8617; 1879-1344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2007.11.030

As polysaccharides of the mushroom genus Pleurotus can act as biological response modifiers, we now describe the chemical characterization of a new water-soluble αβ-glucan from the fruiting bodies of the edible mushroom Pleurotus florida. It was obtained via successive aq. extraction, freeze-thawing, precipitation with Fehling solution, and dialysis through a membrane with M r 1000 kDa cut-off. It was analyzed using NMR spectroscopy, HPSEC, monosaccharide composition, methylation analysis, and a controlled Smith degradation. It was a branched glucan ( M w 1.1 × 10 6 g/mol), with a main-chain of (1→3)-linked-α- d-Glc p residues, partially substituted at O-6 by single-unit β- d-Glc p, and a minor proportion by side-chains with 3- O-substituted β- d-Glc p groups.