The Isolation, Structure, and Applications of the Exocellular Heteropolysaccharide Glucuronoxylomannan Produced by Yellow Brain Mushroom Tremella mesenterica Ritz.:Fr. (Heterobasidiomycetes)

Abstract

The yellow brain mushroom Tremella mesenterica possesses a wide spectrum of medicinal properties, including immunostimulating, protecting against radiation, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, hypocholesterolemic, hepatoprotective, and antiallergic effects. A unique feature of T. mesenterica is that most of the above-mentioned medicinal properties depend on polysaccharide glucuronoxylomannan (GXM) contained in fruiting bodies or produced in pure culture conditions. We developed a new strain of T. mesenterica, CBS 101939, which grows in submerged culture and offers superior yields of one-cell biomass rich in exocellular heteropolysaccharide GXM. The structure of the GXM was analyzed by NMR spectroscopy and chemical methods. The polysaccharide is defined as a repeating unit structure which is O-acetylated at several points. These results differ from the previously published structure of Tremella extracellular polysaccharides, where the mannan backbone was believed to be randomly glycosylated with xylan chains of different length.