A polysaccharide from cultured mycelium of Hericium erinaceus and its anti-chronic atrophic gastritis activity

A polysaccharide named EP-1 was found by screening cultured mycelium of Hericium erinaceus, which was extracted and subjected to precipitation with ethanol, hollow-fiber ultrafiltration and ion-exchange chromatography. The polysaccharide has a molecular weight of approximately 3100 Da and is composed of glucose, mannose and galactose, thus being a heteroglycan. EP-1 has a backbone of alpha-D-Glc(1 -> 3) and beta-D-Glc(1 -> 3). The beta-n-Glc(1 -> 3) and alpha-D-Gal-(1 -> 3) were regarded as branches attached to the C-4 position. The alpha-D-Man was regarded as a terminal residue. The anti-CAG activity was evaluated in experimental systems using a cell model for identification. The polysaccharide significantly inhibited the growth of MC cells obtained from human gastric mucosa epithelium (GES-1) cells transformed by MNNG, which were used as a chronic atrophic gastritis cell model. It also interfered with the MC cells by inducing cell cycle arrest. Thus, EP-1 shows potential for the development of new functional foods and drugs. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.