Molecular Weight (Mw) and Monosaccharide Composition (MC): Two Major Factors Affecting the Therapeutic Action of Polysaccharides Extracted from Cordyceps sinensis-Mini Review

ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Molecular Weight (Mw) and Monosaccharide Composition (MC): Two Major Factors Affecting the Therapeutic Action of Polysaccharides Extracted from Cordyceps sinensis-Mini Review

Mohammad Soltani^1,2, Hesam Kamyab³ and Hesham A. El-Enshasy^1,4

¹Institute of Bioproduct Development (IBD), UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.

²Department of Bioprocess, Faculty of Chemical Engineering (FKK), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.

³Institute of Environmental Water Resources and Management (IPASA), Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia.

⁴Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications (CSAT), New Burg Al Arab, Alexandria, Egypt.

J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2013;7(3):1601-1613

Received: 16/06/2013 | Accepted: 10/08/2013 | Published: 30/09/2013

Abstract

Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. is one of the well-described fungi that has been extensively used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 700 years. Cordyceps sinensis has been cultivated naturally or in artificial media. Fungal mycelia contain some polysaccharides that are responsible for its biological activity. Polysaccharides are the best known and most potent mushroom-derived substances possessing antitumor and immuno modulating properties. However, factors such as molecular weight (M_w) and the type of monosaccharide composition seems to affect the anticancerand immuno modulating properties. This short review focuses on the relationship between molecular weight (M_w) and the composition of extracted polysaccharides for its effectiveness to be used in therapeutic applications of both in vivo and in vitro conditions. This article also aims to provide some recent information as a benchmark for further researchers to study and exploit it for their future studies.

Keywords

Cordyceps sinensis, polysaccharide, antitumor

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