Surface morphology and protective effect of Hericium erinaceus polysaccharide on cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression in mice

The aim of this study was to investigate the surface morphological features and in vivo immunomodulatory activities of a hetem polysaccharide fraction (HEP-W) from Hericium erinaceus. SEM and AFM images revealed that HEP-W displayed a flexible random coil conformation, and these flexible winding chains further formed continuous fiber network structure. Meanwhile, Congo red assay and XRD further proved that HEP-W mainly exhibited amorphous structure with non-triple-helical conformation in solution. In vivo immunomodulatory experiments demonstrated that HEP-W possessed protective effects against cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression in mice by significantly enhancing immune organ index, splenocyte proliferation, NK cell activity, IL-2 production as well as improving the macrophage phagocytosis. These findings suggest that HEP-W could be explored as a natural and effective immunomodulatory agent.