ANTITUMOR ACTIVE PROTEIN-CONTAINING GLYCANS FROM THE CHINESE MUSHROOMSONGSHAN-LINGZHI, GANODERMA-TSUGAE MYCELIUM

A water-soluble polysaccharide, FI, extracted from the mycelium of Gan oderma tsugae, was fractionated and purified by ion-exchange chromatog raphy, gel filtration, and affinity chromatography. Sixteen polysaccha rides obtained were examined for antitumor effects on Sarcoma 180 in m ice. The three active polysaccharides obtained were as follows: FIO-a: A glycan-protein complex containing 9.3% protein, and having a hetero- glyco-chain of mannose and xylose. FIO-b-alpha: Molecular weight 10,00 0, glucan-protein complex containing 25.8% protein. The inhibition rat io was 61.8% against the solid cancer Sarcoma 180/mice; the survival r atio was more than 194% of the control group (100). FA-1-b-alpha: Mole cular weight 16,000, a complex of glycan:protein=42:58 w/w, consisting of glucose as a main component, and associated with arabinose, mannos e, xylose, and galactose. This had a tumor inhibition ratio of 56% and a survival ratio of more than 182%. Comparison of active glycan with the fruiting body and mycelium : Among water-soluble polysaccharides o f fruiting body, FIO-a and FA-1, with antitumor activity, were both gl ucogalactan-protein complexes of molecular weight 10,000, but that of mycelium was a homoglucan protein complex in FIO-b-alpha and heteroglu can protein in both FA-1-a and FA-1-b-alpha. The heteroglucan had a lo w tumor inhibition ratio, but caused a high survival ratio in mice.