Antitumor activity of some polysaccharides isolated from a Chinese mushroom, "huangmo", the fruiting body of Hohenbuehelia serotina.

Polysaccharides were extracted from a Chinese mushroom, "Huangmo" with hot water (FI), 1% ammonium oxalate solution (FII), and 5% sodium hydroxide (FIII) and 20 more polysaccharides were isolated by ethanol precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration, and affinity chromatography. Of the six polysaccharides obtained, FI0, FA-1, FA-2, FII-2, FIII-1-b, and FIII-2-b were selected on the basis of the results of the antitumor activity test (the Sarcoma 180/mice, i.p. method). Six fractions which showed relatively high activities were examined: FI0, a mixture of galactose-containing heteroglycan and beta-D-glucan; FA-1 and -2, beta-D-glucan with galactose-containing hetero-glycan and protein; FII-2, beta-D-glucan; and FIII-1-b and FIII-2-b, (1----6)-beta-D-glucosyl branched (1----3)-beta-D-glucan.