Fruiting bodies of Hericium erinaceus (Bull.) Pers. - a new source of water-insoluble (1→3)-α-D-glucan

A water-insoluble polysaccharide (WIP) was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Hericium erinaceus HE01 by an alkaline solution with the yield of 5%. Structural and compositional analyses by total acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis, FT-IR, FT-Raman, and H-1 NMR spectroscopy as well as other instrumental techniques showed predominantly glucose linked by alpha-glycosidic bonds and small amounts of mannose, xylose, rhamnose, galactose, and ribose. The methylation analysis showed that (1 -> 3)-linked Glcp is the major constituent (70.8%) of the polymer, while the 3,4 substituted D-Glcp represents the main branching residue of the glucan. The presence of (1 -> 3)-alpha-D-glucan in the hyphae of H. erinaceus was additionally confirmed by the use of specific fluorophore-labeled antibodies.