Antimicrobial and antitumor activities of chitosan from shiitake stipes, compared to commercial chitosan from crab shells

• Chitosan was prepared by alkaline N-deacetylation of chitin from shiitake and crab.
• Chitosan exhibited excellent antimicrobial activities against pathogenic bacteria.
• Shiitake chitosan C120 showed inhibition zones of 16.4–26.8 mm at 0.5 mg/ml.
• Chitosan showed a moderate anti-proliferative effect on IMR 32 and Hep G2 cells.
• Chitosan from shiitake stipes showed better antimicrobial and antitumor activities.

Chitosan was prepared by alkaline N-deacetylation of chitin obtained from shiitake stipes and crab shells and its antimicrobial and antitumor activities were studied. Chitosan from shiitake stipes and crab shells exhibited excellent antimicrobial activities against eight species of Gram positive and negative pathogenic bacteria with inhibition zones of 11.4–26.8 mm at 0.5 mg/ml. Among chitosan samples, shiitake chitosan C120 was the most effective with inhibition zones of 16.4–26.8 mm at 0.5 mg/ml. In addition, shiitake and crab chitosan showed a moderate anti-proliferative effect on IMR 32 and Hep G2 cells. At 5 mg/ml, the viability of IMR 32 cells incubated with chitosan was 68.8–85.0% whereas that of Hep G2 cells with chitosan was 60.4–82.9%. Overall, shiitake chitosan showed slightly better antimicrobial and antitumor activities than crab chitosan. Based on the results obtained, shiitake and crab chitosan were strong antimicrobial agents and moderate antitumor agents.