Improved production, purification and bioactivity of a polysaccharide from submerged cultured Ganoderma lucidum

Polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum showed multiple biological activities, such as immuno-modulating, antitumor, antioxidant, and hepatoprotective activity, etc. Adlay oil was added into the media to enhance polysaccharide production by submerged culture of G. lucidum in this work. The results revealed the optimal concentration of adlay oil was 1.5 % for polysaccharide production of G. lucidum. Analysis of the polysaccharide components confirmed that no novel components were biosynthesized by the addition of adlay oil. The main fraction of extracellular polysaccharide, GLEP-2, was isolated from the submerged culture broth of G. lucidum by ethanol precipitation, filtration, DEAE cellulose-52 and Sepharose CL-6B chromatography. GLEP-2, which was composed of glucose, galactose, mannose, arabinose, and rhamnose in a ratio of 332:55:32:13:3 respectively, had an average molecular weight of ~2.08 × 104 Da. The bioactivity tests demonstrated that GLEP-2 enhanced the T lymphocyte proliferation significantly at a concentration of 200 μg/mL and B lymphocyte proliferation at lower concentrations of 50 μg/mL. The results suggest polysaccharides from the submerged culture of G. lucidum are potential candidates for further development and possible commercial applications, especially in the pharmaceutical and functional foods industries.