Resumen de Improved Extraction and Quality Characterization of Water‐Soluble Polysaccharide from Gamma‐Irradiated Lentinus edodes
Kashif Akram, Hafiz Muhammad Shahbaz, Gui‐Ran Kim, Umar Farooq, Joong‐Ho Kwon
Gamma irradiation was applied to the improved extraction of water‐soluble polysaccharides (WSPs) from dried Lentinus edodes. Irradiation provided a dose‐dependent increase in extraction yield (0 kGy, 2.01%; 7.5 kGy, 4.03%; 15 kGy, 7.17%) and purity (0 kGy, 78.8%; 7.5 kGy, 83.1%; 15 kGy, 85.6%) of the WSPs from hot‐water extraction. The effect of irradiation was evident in the degraded microstructures and reduced molecular weights of the WSPs. However, nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier‐transform infrared, and X‐ray diffraction spectroscopic analyses provided comparable structures of WSPs from nonirradiated and irradiated samples. UV–visible spectra showed a dose‐dependent decline in intensity, but an improvement in thermal properties of the WSPs from the irradiated mushroom samples was observed. Fungal polysaccharides are well known for their functionality as biological response modifiers. However, poor water solubility and purity are major constraints for their potential applications in functional foods. This study revealed that gamma irradiation could be applied to achieve an improved extraction of WSPs from L. edodes.
