Research progress of edible fungal polysaccharides

Polysaccharide is one of the most important active ingredients of edible fungi, which is composed of diverse monosaccharide. Polysaccharide has various biological activities such as antioxidant, antitumor and immune regulation. Therefore, it has been widely used as additive in functional foods. In recent years, more and more researches have been conducted on edible fungal polysaccharides, including the structure analysis, extraction process, conventional fermentation process, biosynthesis and biological activity. In this paper, the monosaccharide composition, molecular weight and glycosidic bond connection methods of several common edible fungal polysaccharides are reviewed, and the advantages and disadvantages of traditional and new extraction methods are discussed. Afterwards, the current status of edible fungal polysaccharides produced by fermentation in shake flasks and small bioreactor is summarized, and finally the biosynthetic mechanism of polysaccharides and its current research status are summarized. Sorting out, this review could provide a theoretical basis for the research and industrial utilization of fungal polysaccharides.