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Determination of Glucan Contents in the Fruiting Bodies and Mycelia of

Lentinula edodes Cultivars

Article in Mycobiology · September 2014

DOI: 10.5941/MYCO.2014.42.3.301 · Source: PubMed

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Mycobiology Research Note

Determination of Glucan Contents in the Fruiting

Bodies and Mycelia of Lentinula edodes Cultivars
Won Chull Bak, Ji Heon Park*, Young Ae Park and Kang Hyeon Ka
Laboratory of Forest Microbiology, Korea Forest Research Institute, Seoul 130-712, Korea

Abstract Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) containing β-glucans may be beneficial for human health; they have been used
in the treatment of cancer, hypertension, and high cholesterol levels. The objective of this study was to determine the β-glucan
content in different sections of the fruiting bodies and mycelia of ten shiitake mushroom cultivars. The measured β-glucan
content ranged from 20.06 ± 1.76% to 44.21 ± 0.13% in the pileus sections, and from 29.74 ± 1.40% to 56.47 ± 4.72% in the
stipe sections. The results of this study indicate that the variance in β-glucan content dependent on the shiitake cultivar, and that
the β-glucan content is higher in the stipe than in the pileus.

Keywords β-Glucan, Cultivar, Lentinula edodes, Shiitake mushroom

The shiitake mushroom, Lentinula edodes, is one of most decrease blood cholesterol levels; the β-glucans increase
important edible mushrooms cultivated in the world. L. intestinal viscosity and decrease cholesterol absorption,
edodes contains various vitamins including vitamins B1, thereby promoting its excretion [6-8].
B2, B12, C, D, and niacin, providing the highest level of, β-Glucans increase the resistance of the intentinal
vitamin D of any plant food [1]. The mushroom is also a mucosa to inflammation and inhibit the development of
source of proteins, fats, minerals, and (1-3)-(1-6)-β-glucans intestinal ulcers [9, 10]. In addition, it has been reported
polysaccharides [2, 3]. that β-glucans are effective in treating cancer [11-13],
β-Glucans are polymers of glucose linked by glycosidic infectious diseases [14], hypertension [15, 16], diabetes
bonds, that are found at high levels in the cell wall of [17, 18], and high blood pressure [19].
fungi, yeast, oats, and barley. β-Glucans derived from L. Kim et al. [20] described the β-glucan content in whole
edodes are comprised of five linearly linked (1 → 3)-β- fruiting bodies of the shiitake mushroom; however, the β-
glucose residues and two side chain branches of (1 → 6)-β- glucan content in the pileus and stipes of fruiting bodies,
glucopyranoside [4]. β-Glucans bind to lymphocyte surfaces and in the mycelia of different shiitake cultivars has yet to
or serum-specific proteins, that activate macrophages, helper be examined [21, 22].
T-cells, natural killer cells, and other effector cells. The The objective of this study was to determine the β-
activation of these effectors results in an increase in the glucan content in two distinct morphological sections of
production and release of antibodies, interleukins, and the fruiting body (pileus and stipe) and in the mycelia of
interferon [5]. ten different shiitake cultivars in order to extend our
Mushrooms containing β-glucans have been used to understanding of the nutritional potential of shiitake
mushrooms. The fruiting bodies and mycelia of ten shiitake
cultivars registered in Korea were used for this study;
Mycobiology 2014 September, 42(3): 301-304
http://dx.doi.org/10.5941/MYCO.2014.42.3.301
Samlim No. 2, Samlim No. 4, Samlim No. 7, Samlim No. 10,
pISSN 1229-8093 • eISSN 2092-9323 Gaeulhyang, Soohyangko, Dasanhyang, Chunjang No. 1,
© The Korean Society of Mycology Chunjang No. 2, and Poongnyunko; these were developed
*Corresponding author by the Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI). The shiitake
E-mail: hkz84@hotmail.com mushroom samples used in this study are illustrated in Fig. 1.
Received February 27, 2014 To prepare the samples, mushrooms were dried in a dry
Revised March 25, 2014 oven at 55oC for 4 days, separated into pileus and stipes,
Accepted August 18, 2014 and then pulverized. Mycelia were maintained on potato
dextrose agar (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD, USA) plates
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// and subcultured every 2 mon. The plates were incubated at
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted 25oC for approximately 30 days, at which point the mycelia
non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, were harvested from the potato dextrose agar and then
provided the original work is properly cited.
dried, and pulverized.

301
302 Bak et al.

The β-glucan content of the dried shiitake mushroom

fruiting bodies was determined using a mushroom and
yeast specific β-glucan kit (Megazyme International, Wicklow,
Ireland) [23]. The enzyme kit contains exo-1,3-β-glucanase,
β-glucosidase, amyloglucosidase and invertase; glucose
determination reagent (glucose oxidase peroxidase, and 4-
aminoantipyrine), and glucose standard solution. Measurement
of total glucan content was conducted by hydrolyzing the
shiitake samples with 37% hydrochloric acid (v/v) for
45 min at 30oC followed by an additional 2 hr at 100oC.
Subsequent to neutralization with 2 M potassium hydroxide,
glucose hydrolysis was performed using a mixture of exo-
1,3-β-glucanase and β-glucosidase in sodium acetate buffer
(pH 5.0) for 1 hr at 40oC. The absorbance of the resulting color
complex was measured at 510 nm using a spectrophotometer
(Shimadzu Co., Kyoto, Japan). The α-glucan content was
determined using the method described above following
enzymatic hydrolysis with amyloglucosidase and invertase.
The β-glucan content was calculated by subtracting the α-
glucan content from the total glucan content. Glucan
content was expressed as percentage (w/w) of mushroom
dry weight.
All measurements were taken a minimum of three times,
and the experimental data were analyzed using the ANOVA
test. The resulting measurements were compared using
SPSS ver. 12.0 statistical software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL,
USA). All data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation
(SD). The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Table 1 details the glucan content (total, α-glucan, and
β-glucan) in the pileus and stipe sections of the dried
fruiting bodies and mycelium of ten different shiitake
cultivars. Glucan content varied considerably among the
shiitake cultivars. As described in Table 1, the total glucan
content in the pileus ranged from 29.16 ± 3.13% to 46.30 ±
0.31%, whereas the α-glucan content ranged from 0.70 ±
Fig. 1. Fruiting bodies of Lentinula edodes cultivars used in
0.60% to 8.17 ± 0.18%. α-Glucans are present in the
this work: A, Samlim No. 2; B, Samlim No. 4; C, Samlim No.
polysaccharide fraction of mushrooms [24]; they increase
7; D, Samlim No. 10; E, Gaeulhyang; F, Soohyangko; G,
Dasanhyang; H, Chunjang No. 1; I, Poongnyunko; J, Chunjang
insulin sensitivity and ameliorate insulin resistance in
No. 2. peripheral target tissues, thus exerting an anti-diabetic

Table 1. The glucan content in the fruiting bodies and mycelium of ten Lentinula edodes cultivars
Pileus Stipe Mycelium
Cultivar
Total glucan α-Glucan β-Glucan Total glucan α-Glucan β-Glucan Total glucan α-Glucan β-Glucan
Gaeulhyang 44.79 ± 0.88 6.33 ± 0.38 38.45 ± 1.26 47.90 ± 2.27 6.43 ± 0.95 41.47 ± 2.97 32.08 ± 1.03 4.99 ± 0.14 27.09 ± 2.11
Samlim No. 10 41.00 ± 3.46 1.32 ± 0.38 39.68 ± 3.19 57.81 ± 5.16 1.34 ± 0.45 56.47 ± 4.72 24.31 ± 0.58 1.46 ± 0.05 22.85 ± 0.60
Soohyangko 29.34 ± 3.64 0.70 ± 0.60 28.64 ± 4.13 41.87 ± 4.18 1.45 ± 0.47 40.42 ± 4.41 34.87 ± 2.08 7.90 ± 0.34 26.97 ± 1.74
Samlim No. 2 44.93 ± 1.98 1.23 ± 0.43 43.70 ± 1.55 56.97 ± 1.98 1.06 ± 0.48 55.91 ± 1.99 27.66 ± 1.04 5.39 ± 0.37 22.27 ± 0.72
Samlim No. 4 46.30 ± 0.31 2.09 ± 0.12 44.21 ± 0.13 54.83 ± 3.92 1.79 ± 0.05 53.04 ± 3.97 25.86 ± 1.83 6.98 ± 0.19 18.87 ± 1.75
Samlim No. 7 38.61 ± 4.08 8.17 ± 0.18 30.44 ± 3.90 35.08 ± 1.96 4.46 ± 0.09 30.62 ± 1.87 30.55 ± 2.64 7.54 ± 0.95 23.01 ± 3.17
Dasanhyang 29.16 ± 3.13 4.30 ± 0.41 24.86 ± 3.29 32.51 ± 1.39 2.78 ± 0.16 29.74 ± 1.40 22.48 ± 3.88 3.64 ± 0.57 18.84 ± 3.36
Chunjang No. 2 38.37 ± 0.38 2.20 ± 0.41 36.18 ± 0.37 50.76 ± 0.65 1.82 ± 0.45 48.94 ± 0.40 23.87 ± 1.56 2.31 ± 0.25 21.55 ± 1.60
Chunjang No. 1 35.40 ± 2.23 1.89 ± 0.48 33.51 ± 2.32 043.8 ± 2.75 1.93 ± 0.18 41.87 ± 2.67 29.58 ± 0.35 4.28 ± 0.08 25.31 ± 0.35
Poongnyunko 43.54 ± 3.76 3.90 ± 0.44 39.65 ± 4.06 047.9 ± 1.05 3.05 ± 0.41 44.85 ± 0.87 23.36 ± 1.74 7.77 ± 0.41 15.59 ± 5.96
β-Glucan (% w/w) = Total glucan (% w/w) − α-glucan (% w/w).
All values are expressed as mean ± SD of triplicate measurements.
 Determination of Glucan Contents in the Fruiting Bodies and Mycelia of Lentinula edodes Cultivars 303

effect [25]. bodies was higher than that in the mycelia. These results
The β-glucan content in the pileus ranged from 20.06 ± concur with a previous study by Mölleken et al. [32], who
1.76% to 44.21 ± 0.13%. The highest level of β-glucans, reported levels of 9.5% and 4.2% for fruiting bodies and
44.21 ± 0.13%, was observed in strain “Samlim No. 4”; the mycelia, respectively.
“Dasanhyang” strain demonstrated the lowest levels of β- Our results demonstrate that the stipe contains higher
glucan. The total glucan content in the stipe section varied amounts of β-glucan than the pileus. In addition, the β-
from 32.51 ± 1.39% to 57.81 ± 5.16%, whereas the α-glucan glucan content was lowest in the mycelia except in the
content ranged from 1.06 ± 0.48% to 6.43 ± 0.95%. The “Soohyangko” strain.
level of β-glucan content in the stipe section ranged from In this study, we presented a quantitative analysis of β-
29.74 ± 1.40% to 56.47 ± 4.72%. The highest β-glucan content, glucan levels in three sections of the mushroom: stipe,
56.47 ± 4.72%, was observed in strain “Samlim No. 10”. pileus and mycelium. The β-glucan content of ten different
Kozarski et al. [26] analyzed the chemical composition, shiitake cultivars was determined using enzymatic methods.
including the levels of total polysaccharides, total glucans, The highest β-glucan content was observed in the stipe
α-glucan, and β-glucan, in polysaccharide extracts from section of the shiitake fruiting bodies, with values ranging
Lentinula edodes. Their results established the total glucan between 29.74 ± 1.40% and 56.47 ± 4.72%. The variance in
level as 42.6 g, the α-glucan level as 1.4 g, and the β-glucan β-glucan content was dependent on shiitake cultivar, and
level as 41.2 g, per 100 g dry weight of extract, consistent the β-glucan content was higher in the stipe than in the
with the findings of this study. pileus. Shiitake cultivars with elevated β-glucan content could
Kim et al. [20] reported that the β-glucan content of be used as a nutritional source for the modern food industry.
shiitake mushrooms, divided based on size, ranged from However, mycelia of shiitake mushrooms that exhibit relatively
26% to 27%; however, the variance between the groups was low levels of β-glucan, ranging from 15.59 ± 5.96% to
not significant. Handayani et al. [21] demonstrated that the 27.09 ± 2.11%, would not provide a suitable nutritional
β-glucan soluble fiber content of shiitake mushrooms was supply.
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