Purification and identification of a polysaccharide from medicinal mushroomAmauroderma rudewith immunomodulatory activity and inhibitory effect on tumor growth

// Honghui Pan 1 , Yuanyuan Han 1 , Jiguo Huang 1 , Xiongtao Yu 1 , Chunwei Jiao 2 , Xiaobing Yang 1 , Preet Dhaliwal 3, 4 , Yizhen Xie 1 , Burton B. Yang 3, 4 1 Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangzhou, China 2 Yuewei Edible Fungi Technology Co. Ltd., Guangzhou, China 3 Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada 4 Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Correspondence to: Yizhen Xie, e-mail: 13622216490@126.com Burton B. Yang, e-mail: byang@sri.utoronto.ca Keywords: medicinal mushroom, herbal medicine, tumor growth, cytokine, amauroderma Received: April 28, 2015      Accepted: June 15, 2015      Published: June 27, 2015 ABSTRACT Medicinal mushrooms in recent years have been the subject of many experiments searching for anticancer properties. We previously screened thirteen mushrooms for their potential in inhibiting tumor growth, and found that the water extract of Amauroderma rude exerted the highest activity. Previous studies have shown that the polysaccharides contained in the water extract were responsible for the anticancer properties. This study was designed to explore the potential effects of the polysaccharides on immune regulation and tumor growth. Using the crude Amauroderma rude extract, in vitro experiments showed that the capacities of spleen lymphocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells were all increased. In vivo experiments showed that the extract increased macrophage metabolism, lymphocyte proliferation, and antibody production. In addition, the partially purified product stimulated the secretion of cytokines in vitro , and in vivo . Overall, the extract decreased tumor growth rates. Lastly, the active compound was purified and identified as polysaccharide F212. Most importantly, the purified polysaccharide had the highest activity in increasing lymphocyte proliferation. In summary, this molecule may serve as a lead compound for drug development.