Purification, antitumor and immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharides from soybean residue fermented with Morchella esculenta

- Soybean residue was reused to produce polysaccharides.
- Polysaccharides were purified with two kinds of chromatography.
- Antitumor and immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharides were studied.
- Polysaccharides induced apoptosis by arresting cell cycle progression at the G0/G1 phase.

Crude polysaccharides (MPS) from soybean residue fermented with Morchella esculenta were extracted and purified by DEAE Sephadex A-50 chromatography and Sephadex G-100 size-exclusion chromatography in sequence. Three main fractions MP-1, MP-3 and MP-4 were obtained during the purification steps. The recovery rates based on MPS used were 26.2%, 29.1% and 18.7% for MP-1, MP-3 and MP-4 respectively. The monosaccharide composition, ultraviolet spectrum, infrared spectrum and NMR of the three fractions were analyzed. Furthermore, the influence of polysaccharides fractions upon activation of macrophage cells (RAW 264.7), antitumor activities of the human hepatocellular cell line (HepG-2) and human cervical carcinoma cells (Hela) in vitro were evaluated. The results indicated that the proliferation of MP-3 on RAW 264.7 was 313.57% at 25 μg/mL, which is high while MP-1 had a higher growth inhibition effect on HepG-2 cells of 68.01% at concentration of 50 μg/mL. The fractions of MP-1, MP-3 and MP-4 induced apoptosis in HepG-2 cells and Hela cells by arresting cell cycle progression at the G0/G1 phase. These findings suggest that the purified polysaccharides fractions may be a potent candidate for human hepatocellular and cervical carcinoma treatment and prevention in functional foods and pharmacological fields.