Some Properties of Polysaccharide Fraction from the Hot-Water Extract of Phellinus robustus and Its Biological Activities

A polysaccharide fraction (K-3) was isolated from the hot-water extract of the fruiting body of Phellinus robustus. K-3 was composed of D-xylose, D-mannose,D-glucose and D-glucuronic acid in the molar ratio of 1.0 : 3.7 : 12.8 : 1.5, and contained a small amount of protein. Its total sugar content was estimated to be 99.3% as anhydroglucose. The low value of specific rotation, [α]^_D -3.8°(water) and the presence of a characteristic absorption band at 890cm^ (type 2b) in the infrared spectrum suggest that most of the component sugars of K-3 are bonded by β-D-glycosidic linkage. The molecular weight was presumed to be below 10,000, by gel filtration on SephadexG-200. Ih some biological screening tests, K-3 exhibited significant antitumor activity against Sarcoma 180 (at a dose of 10mg/kg×10) and colony-stimulating factor-inducing activity, although the mitogenic activity was little.departmental bulletin pape