Sulfated modification, characterization, and potential bioactivities of polysaccharide from the fruiting bodies of Russula virescens

The water-soluble polysaccharide from fruiting bodies of Russula virescens (RVP) was sulfated using sulfur trioxide·pyridine complex method under different reaction conditions. Five sulfated RVP derivatives (SRVP1-5, SRV1-10, SRVP1-15, SRVP1-20 and SRVP1-25) with different degrees of substitution (DS) ranging from 0.34 to 0.73 were prepared. Several structural features of RVP and SRVPs including chemical structure, monosaccharide composition, molecular weight and chain conformation were investigated. The spectra results indicated that the sulfate groups were successfully introduced on RVP. The molecular weights of SRVP decreased with the increasing DS. Both RVP and SRVPs were mainly composed of mannose, glucose and galactose, with different molar ratios. The triple-helical conformation was broken down into a random coil when the DS exceeded 0.34. In vitro activity test results indicated that the SRVPs showed better antioxidant, anticoagulant, antibacterial and anti-tumor activities compared with RVP. Among the five sulfated derivatives, SRVP1-25 exhibited the strongest ABTS and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities and anticoagulant activity, while SRVP1-20 showed the best antibacterial activity and anti-tumor activity. These results demonstrated that the SRVPs could be developed as one of potential antioxidant, anticoagulant, antibacterial and anti-tumor agents for industrial and biomedical use.