Structural characterization of a heteroglycan from an edible mushroom Termitomyces heimii.

A water soluble heteroglycan (THPS) of an average molecular weight ~1.98 × 105 Da was isolated from the aqueous extract of the fruit bodies of an edible mushroom Termitomyces heimii. Structural characterization of THPS was carried out using acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis, periodate oxidation, Smith degradation and 1D/2D NMR studies. Sugar analysis indicated the presence of glucose, mannose, galactose, and fucose in a molar ratio of nearly 6:2:2:1. The repeating unit of the THPS had a backbone consisting of four (1 â†’ 3)-ß-d-glucopyranosyl, one (1 â†’ 6)-ß-d-glucopyranosyl, two (1 â†’ 3)-α-D-manopyranosyl, and two (1 â†’ 6)-α-D-galactopyranosyl residues, out of which one (1 â†’ 3)-ß-d-glucopyranosyl residue was branched at O-6 position with terminal ß-d-glucopyranosyl residue and one (1 â†’ 6)-α-D-galactopyranosyl residue was branched at O-2 position with terminal α-L-fucopyranosyl residue.

Structural elucidation and immunostimulating property of a novel polysaccharide extracted from an edible mushroom Lentinus fusipes.

A water soluble heteroglycan (PS-II) with an average molecular weight∼60kDa was isolated from the hot aqueous extract of an edible mushroom Lentinus fusipes. The structural characterization of PS-II was carried out using total acid hydrolysis, methylation analyses, periodate oxidation, Smith degradation and 1D/2D NMR experiments. Total acid hydrolysis indicated the presence of D-galactose and D-glucose in a molar ratio of approximately 1:1. The chemical and NMR analyses revealed that the proposed repeating unit of the PS-II had a backbone chain consisting of three (1→6)-linked α-d-galactopyranosyl residue and two (1→6)-linked ß-d-glucopyranosyl residues, one of the ß-d-glucopyranosyl residue was branched at O-3 position with a terminal ß-d-glucopyranosyl. The PS-II exhibited significant in vitro splenocyte and macrophage activations with optimum dose of 20µg/ml and 80µg/ml respectively. Flow cytometry study revealed the protective role of the PS-II against nicotine stimulated lymphocytes. Moreover, the ROS scavenging property of PS-II was also established using DPPH radical scavenging assay.

Polysaccharide of an edible truffle Tuber rufum: Structural studies and effects on human lymphocytes.

A water-soluble heteroglycan (PS-II) with average molecular weight ∼7.27×104Da, was isolated from the fruiting bodies of an edible truffle mushroom Tuber rufum (Pico) var. by hot water extraction. The structural investigation of PS-II has been carried out using acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis, periodate oxidation, and 1D/2D NMR experiments. It was composed of d-glucose, d-galactose, l-fucose in a molar ratio of nearly 4:3:1 respectively. On the basis of these experiments, the repeating unit of the PS-II was found to contain a backbone of two (1→6)-α-d-galactopyranosyl, one (1→4)-α-d-glucopyranosyl, two (1→6)-ß-d-glucopyranosyl, and one (1→4)-ß-d-glucopyranosyl residues, out of which (1→4)-α-d-glucopyranosyl residue was branched at O-2 position with terminal α-l-fucopyranosyl residue and at O-6 position with terminal α-d-galactopyranosyl residue. Ameliorative activities of the PS-II was observed at different concentrations (25, 50, 100, 200, 400µg/ml) and it maintained the redox balance as well as reduced the lipid peroxidation to protect the cell damage.

Lead finding from medicinal plants with hepatoprotective potentials.

BACKGROUND: Several lead compounds have been developed from natural resources as hepatoprotective. The hepatotoxic nature of the drugs, industrial toxins and drug-induced hepatotoxicity has been recognized as the major problem associated with liver diseases. Natural products including herbs have great potential in treating liver disorders. OBJECTIVE: Botanicals have been used traditionally by herbalists and indigenous healers worldwide for several years for the prevention and treatment of liver disease and clinical research in this century has confirmed the efficacy of several plants in the treatment of liver disease. Many herbs used in several systems of alternative medicines have a long history of traditional use in revitalizing the liver and treating liver dysfunction and disease. Many of these herbs have been evaluated in clinical studies and are now being investigated phytochemically to understand their actions in a better way. CONCLUSION: An attempt has been made through this article to review the most potential medicinal plants with pharmacologically established hepatoprotective activity. Further, this article highlights their phytochemical profile and finds the effective leads from natural resources for the desired therapeutic benefit.