A polysaccharide Ag (PS) was isolated from the phenol-water extract of Bacteroides gingivalis strain A7A1-28 and separated from LPS by Sephacryl S-400 HR chromatography. The PS was composed of glucose, glucosamine, galactosamine, and galactosaminuronic acid, while the LPS contained rhamnose, mannose, galactose, glucose, glucosamine, galactosamine, phosphate, and lipid, but not galactosaminuronic acid. The PS and LPS were immunochemically distinct by immunoelectrophoresis in agarose with homologous rabbit antiserum. The phenol-water extract from strain A7A1-28 was immunoreactive by immunoelectrophoresis against antisera to three additional strains of B. gingivalis, however, the PS was only reactive with homologous serum. Immunochemical characterization of decarboxylated and deacetylated PS derivatives suggest that the acetylation of the amino sugars, but not the presence of the carboxylate residue on galactosaminuronic acid contributes to major immunodeterminant expression.