Structure characterization and antitumor activity of a polysaccharide from the alkaline extract of king oyster mushroom

•One polysaccharide (KOMAP) is successfully from the king oyster mushroom.•KOMAP markedly inhibits the growth of implanted Renca tumor in mice.•KOMAP enhances the immune functions of mice implanted with Renca tumor.

A water-soluble polysaccharide, designated as KOMAP, was isolated and purified from the alkaline extract of king oyster mushroom, which was composed of glucose (Glc), mannose (Man) and arabinose (Ara) in a molar ratio of 6.2:2.1:2.0. It had an average molecular weight of 2.1 × 104 Da. GC–MS analysis revealed that KOMAP was a linear structure of the polymer with a backbone composed of β-1,4-linked glucopyranosyl and β-1,3,6-linked mannopyranosyl units, which was terminated with α-1-linked arabinofuranosyl unit at C-6 position of β-1,3,6-linked mannopyranosyl residue along the main chain in the ratio of 3.1:1. The results in the animal experiment showed that 50, 100 and 200 mg/mL of KOMAP not only inhibited the tumor growth, but also increased relative thymus and spleen indices, LPS- or ConA-induced lymphocytes proliferation, and serum cytokine IL-2, TNF-α, and IFN-γ levels, as well as the activities of NK cells and CTLs in spleen of Renca tumor-bearing mice. In summary, our data indicate that the KOMAP exerts effective immunoregulatory and anti-tumor activities in vivo.