Antiviral activity of total polysaccharide fraction of water and ethanol extracts of Pleurotus pulmonarius against the influenza A virus

New data of antiviral properties of species of the genus Pleurotus are given in the article. Seven samples of one species of pleurotoid fungi, Pleurotus pulmonarius, collected in various habitats and substrates of the Novosibirsk Region, was studied for antiviral activity against the current highly pathogenic strain of influenza virus A/California/07/09(H1N1pdm). As a result, it was found that ethanol extracts from fungi exhibit a more pronounced antiviral effect than aqueous extracts. In this connection, ethanol extraction is a more promising method for extracting the total polysaccharide fraction of fungi, in order to create promising preparations with antiviral properties. Fruiting bodies of P. pulmonarius are potential sources of drugs, with antiviral action against socially significant viral infections caused by the influenza virus. Fruit bodies and cultivated mycelium of P. pulmonarius are a promising source of extracts with fungal polysaccharides.