A MANNOFUCOGALACTAN, FOMITELLAN-A, WITH MITOGENIC EFFECT FROM FRUIT BODIES OF FOMITELLA-FRAXINEA (IMAZ.)

A heterogalactan, fomitellan A, was isolated from a 0.9% sodium chlori de extract of the fruit bodies of Fomitella fraxinea by a combination of fractionation procedures, including precipitation with ethanol and chromatography on columns of DEAE-cellulose and Toyopearl KW 65F. On e mploying gel permeation-high performance liquid chromatograpy, fomitel lan A exhibited a single peak with a molecular weight of 15 kDa. The r esults of methylation, and H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopic analyses ind icated that the heterogalactan fomitellan A was a repeating unit (pent asaccharide) composed of a backbone with (1 --> 6)-linked D-galactopyr anosyl residues. Its C-2 atom position was substituted with disacchari de units of 3-O-D-mannopyranosyl-L-fucopyranosyl residues. The fucoman naogalactan (fomitellan A) from Fomitella fraxinea showed pronounced i mmunostimulating activity in an in vitro lymphocytes proliferation ass ay. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.