Biological activities of Pleurotus spp. polysaccharides: A review

Abstract

Mushrooms are consumed for their nutrients and therapeutic bioactive compounds and are used medicinally in Chinese and Japanese medicine traditions since time immemorial. Members of the genus Pleurotus form a heterogeneous group of edible species with outstanding nutritional profiles rich in fiber, vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, ergosterine, and niacin), micro and macro‐elements (phosphorus and iron), and carbohydrates. Pleurotus is one of the most diversified medicinal and edible mushrooms related to the composition of chemical structures such as polysaccharides, glycoproteins, and secondary metabolites such as alkaloids and betalains. The cultivation of Pleurotus spp. on lignocellulosic wastes represents one of the most economically and cost‐effective organic recycling processes, especially for the utilization of different feasible and cheap recyclable residues. Also, several Pleurotus spp. have the ability to remove phenolic compounds from wastewater with the action of phenoloxidase activity. Here, we have reviewed the chemistry of such polysaccharides and their reported biological activities, namely, anti‐inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti‐diabetic, anti‐tumor, antioxidant, etc. The mechanism of action and effects of novel polysaccharides extracted from various species of Pleurotus have been studied. The current study will be beneficial for guiding future research projects on the above concept and investigating more deeply the health of human beings. Practical applications Mushrooms are one of the most delicious foods around the globe and have many medicinal properties for decades. Various Pleurotus species have been in focus in recent years because of their palatability and medicinal importance too. It contains many bioactive compounds among which polysaccharides are valued to a great extent. Many biological activities are exerted by polysaccharides derived from the Pleurotus spp., namely, anti‐tumor, antioxidant, and many more. They are responsible for significant physiological responses in animals, animal‐alternative in vitro models, and humans. Their important physicochemical characteristics benefit their use in the food industry as well. So, the biological activities of these Pleurotus spp. polysaccharides will provide an insight to develop Pleurotus spp. as functional foods, because of their nutritional value and presence of bioactive components.

Pleurotus Genus as a Potential Ingredient for Meat Products

“…These include high protein content, and essential amino acids enabling it to be as a substitute for meat diet; a chitin rich wall acts as a source of dietary fiber, vitamin content (B 1 , B 2 , B 12 , C, D, and E), micro and macro-elements, carbohydrates, low fat content, and almost zero cholesterol content. In relation to its composition of chemical structures, such as secondary metabolites, such as betalains and alkaloids, as well as glycoproteins and polysaccharides, Pleurotus genus is one of the most diverse edible and medicinal mushrooms [27]. Concerning their chemical composition, the mushrooms cultivated commercially are characterized by showing a similar profile of nutritional components compared to wild mushrooms.…”

Metabolomic Profiling and Biological Activities of Pleurotus columbinus Quél. Cultivated on Different Agri-Food Byproducts

“…isolates examined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis isoelectric and protein blotting, however, demonstrated that P. columbinus (Figure 1) could be regarded as a separate taxon. Despite there being many studies about the phytochemical composition of Pleurotus spp., also highlighted by recent reviews [33][34][35] there are very few studies dealing with the phytochemistry, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of P. columbinus Quél [36,37]. Metabolomics is a new discipline which is defined as the monitoring of metabolite concentration in fungi, bacteria and plants.…”

Schizochytrium Oil and Its Mixture with Fish Oil and Sacha inchi Oil Ameliorate Gut Microbiota Composition and Lipid Metabolism via the Fatty Acid Synthetase/3‐hydroxy‐3‐methyl Glutaryl Coenzyme A Reductase/Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein Signaling Pathway

“…[96] LDA effect size (LEfSe) was adopted to identify the taxonomic components with significant changes in gut microbiota caused by different diets, and the LDA score threshold was kept greater than 3.0. [41,97] Heat maps were generated using the "pheatmap" package in R software (version 3.3.3). The network association graph was generated by the Cytoscape (version 3.7.1) software.…”