Isolation and characterization of polysaccharides from Agaricus blazei Murill

An efficient route has been developed to isolate water soluble polysaccharides from Agaricus blazei Murill mushroom of Brazilian origin. Using different temperatures: 10, 60 and 100 °C, and precipitation with ethanol, a number of precipitates were extracted which were isolated, purified and fractionated for characterization. The molar mass distribution for the precipitates and fractions from the extraction at 100 °C were determined by GPC. Analysis of the FTIR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra showed a pattern characteristic of glucan–protein complex.