The physicochemical, antioxidant, hypoglycemic and prebiotic properties of γ-irradiated polysaccharides extracted from Lentinula edodes

In this study, the influence of gamma-irradiation with different dose (0, 4, 8, and 16 kGy) on chemical composition, physicochemical features and bioactivities of polysaccharides extracted from Lentinula edodes (LEP) were investigated. The carbohydrate content (from 59.47 to 70.96%), the solubility, the .OH and DPPH scavenging ability of LEP increased with the increased gamma-irradiation dose, while the protein content, the weight-average and number-average molecular weight of LEP were significantly decreased with the increased gamma-irradiation dose. Moreover, gamma-irradiation treatment caused LEP color changes and surface topography destroyed. gamma-Irradiated LEP showed higher hypoglycemic activities in vitro than that of non-irradiated LEP. Moreover, gamma-irradiated LEP had better proliferation promoting effects on Lactobacillus rhamnosus and L. plantarum. These results showed that gamma-irradiation treatment changes the physicochemical features of LEP, thus affects its antioxidant, hypoglycemic and prebiotic properties, which suggests that gamma-irradiated LEP has potential application in the pharmaceutical industries and functional foods.