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ABSTRACT: The yellow brain mushroom Tremella mesenterica possesses a wide spectrum of medicinal properties, including immunostimulating, protecting against radiation, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, hypocholesterolemic, hepatoprotective, and antiallergic effects. A unique feature of T. mesenterica is that most of the above mentioned medicinal properties depend on glucuronoxylomannan (GXM) contained in fruiting bodies or produced in pure culture conditions. We developed a new strain of T. mesenterica CBS 101939, which grows in submerged culture and offers superior yields of one-cell biomass rich in exocellular heteropolysaccharide GXM. The structure of the GXM was analyzed by NMR spectroscopy and chemical methods. The polysaccharide has a defined repeating unit structure, which is O-acetylated at several points: [structure: see text]. These results differ from previously published structure of Tremella extracellular polysaccharides, where mannan backbone was believed to be randomly glycosylated with xylan chains of different length.
Carbohydrate Research 07/2004; 339(8):1483-9. · 2.33 Impact Factor
