RESUMO
The hypolipidemic effect of an exo-biopolymer produced from a submerged mycelial culture of Hericium erinaceus was investigated in dietary-induced hyperlipidemic rats. Hypolipidemic effects were proportionally increased with the increasing concentration of the exo-biopolymer for oral administration. The exo-biopolymer, at the dose of 200 mg/kg body weight, substantially reduced the plasma total cholesterol (32.9%), LDL cholesterol (45.4%), triglyceride (34.3%), phospholipid (18.9%), atherogenic index (58.7%), and hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity (20.2%). It increased the plasma HDL cholesterol level (31.1%) as compared to the control group. The molecular mass of this exo-biopolymer measured by HPLC was under 40 kDa. Total sugar and protein contents were 91.2 and 8.8%, respectively. The sugar and amino acid compositions of the exo-biopolymer were analyzed in detail.