2008 Volume 55 Issue 4 Pages 231-234
Totally 92.7% of glucan present in the fruiting body of H. erinaceum could be solubilized. Of this value, 42.3, 17.7 and 10.7% were extractable by alkali, enzyme, second alkali treatments, respectively, from the residue given after microwave irradiation in water. The remained 22.0% were water-soluble (1→3; 1→6)-β-D-glucan extractable by microwave irradiation in water (Ookushi et al.: J. Appl. Glycosci., 53, 267-272 (2006)). Sugar linkage analysis of the glucan extracted from the water-insoluble residue indicated the presence of three distribution profiles of (1→3;1→6)-β-D-glucan in the water-insoluble residue; (1→3;1→6)-β-D-glucan rich in (1→3) linkages forming heavily hydrogen bonded networks, (1→3;1→6)-β-D-glucan rich in (1→6) linkages forming complex networks with protein and chitin, and (1→3;1→6)-β-D-glucan rich in (1→3) linkages forming complex networks with protein and chitin.