Characterization of Agaricus Blazei by TG/DTA and Solid State NMR

Abstract: The Agaricus mushroom species has been well known for its medicinal properties. Research conducted in Japan revealed the presence of a certain amount of beta-glucan, a kind of monosaccharide that has a beneficial effect on the human organism by increasing the number of macrophages. This study evaluated a lineage of Agaricus species, Agaricus Blazei Jun-17 by using Thermal Analysis for the assessement of their chemical and physical properties. Also, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy was used to detect functional groups and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to evaluate chemical structure. These three techniques made itpossible to confirm the presence of proteins and polysaccharides