Structure, conformation and immunomodulatory activity of a polysaccharide from <i>Morchella sextelata</i>
Feng Li, Kunhua Wang, Xiaobo Dong, Huaide Xu
Abstract
Abstract Fungal polysaccharides are novel ingredients in functional foods with diverse medicinal properties. Here, a polysaccharide, MSP2‐1, was isolated from Morchella sextelata fruiting bodies and purified using column chromatography. MSP2‐1 (371.5 kDa) is a branched (1 → 4)‐α‐D‐glucan with the O ‐6 or O ‐3 position occupied by α‐D‐Glc p . Light scattering analysis revealed that MSP2‐1 has a spherical conformation in 0.9% NaCl solution; this was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy. Finally, MPS2‐1 was found to promote proliferation, NO release and cytokine secretion in RAW264.7 cells through a mechanism involving Toll‐like receptor 4. Collectively, these results highlight the potential application of MSP2‐1 as an immunoenhancing compound for hypoimmunity.