Recent developments in Hericium erinaceus polysaccharides: extraction, purification, structural characteristics and biological activities

Abstract

Hericium erinaceus (H. erinaceus), an edible mushroom with medicinal value, has a long history of usage in China and other oriental countries. Polysaccharide is supposed to be one of the major bioactive compounds in H. erinaceus, which possesses immunomodulating, anti-cancer, antioxidant, gastroprotection and intestinal health promotion, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, antihpyerglycemic and hypolipidemic activities. In this review, the current advancements on extraction, purification, structural characteristics and biological activities of polysaccharide from different sources (fruiting body, mycelium and culture broth) of H. erinaceus were summarized. Among these aspects, summaries of the structural characteristics focused on the purified polysaccharides. Meanwhile, comparisons on the structural characteristics among the purified polysaccharides obtained from above three sources were made. Moreover, their biological activities were introduced on the basis of in vivo and in vitro experiments, and some possible action mechanisms were listed. Furthermore, the structure-activity relationship of the polysaccharide was discussed. New perspectives for the future work of Hericium erinaceus polysaccharide were also proposed.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Extraction, purification, structural characteristics and biological activities of Hericium erinaceus polysaccharide (HEP) were summarized.

• Structural characteristics of the purified polysaccharides from different sources (fruiting body, mycelium and culture broth) of Hericium erinaceus were summarized and compared.

• Structure-activity relationship of HEP was discussed, and new perspectives for the future work of this polysaccharide were proposed.

Keywords:

• Hericium erinaceus
• polysaccharide
• structure
• biological activity
• structure-activity relationship

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the support from the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFD0400203 & 2017YFD0400104), Jiangxi Provincial Major Program of Research and Development Foundation (Agriculture field, 20165ABC28004), Outstanding Science and Technology Innovation Team Project in Jiangxi Province (20165BCB19001), and Research Foundation for Young Scientists of State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University (SKLF-QN-201505).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.