Hemagglutinins (lectins) in fruit bodies of Japanese higher fungi

Extracts from fruit bodies of 110 species of Japanese fungi were examined with trypsinized human and rabbit erythrocytes. More than 80% of the extracts showed the hemagglutination activities, a higher proportion than reported previously. Over half of species that had been reported to be inactive exhibited hemagglutination. Among them, some extracts showed human blood group specific-hemagglutination; A-specific, Panellus serotinus, Psathyrella piluliformis, Cantharellus cibarius and Stropharia rugosoannulata; B-, O-specific, Gyroporus castaneus and Panellus stypticus; and Ospecific, Linderia bicolumnata and Phallus impudicus. Twenty-one species were reactive toward only rabbit erythrocytes. Several species exhibited very high hemagglutination activity. The results suggested that some of these Japanese fungi would be promising sources of lectins.