Many wild edible polypore mushrooms have medicinal value. In this study, we investigate the potential medicinal properties of the wild polypore mushroom Royoporus badius collected from north-central British Columbia, Canada. Water extract from R. badius was found to exhibit potent immunomodulatory activity. The extract was purified using DEAE-Sephadex anion-exchange chromatography as well as Sephacryl S-500 and HPLC BioSEC5 size-exclusion chromatography, to yield a novel polysaccharide-protein complex (IMPP-Rb).IMPP-Rb has a peak maxima molecular weight (Mp) of 950 kDa. GC-MS analyses showed that IMPP-Rb is composed predominantly of glucose (49.2%), galactose (11.3%), mannose (10.8%), rhamnose (9.6%), and galacturonic acid (8.2%), with smaller amounts of xylose (5.2%), fucose (2.8%), N-acetyl glucosamine (1.8%), and arabinose (1.2%). IMPP-Rb has multiple linkages, with 4-Glcp, 4-Manp, 6-Manp, 3,4-Manp, 4-Xylp, and 2-Rhap being the most prominent. IMPP-Rb is capable of inducing many cytokines in vitro and the protein component is indispensable for its immunomodulatory activity. IMPP-Rb has potential application as an immuno-stimulatory agent with pharmaceutical value.
Keywords: Picipes badius; Polyporus badius; Royoporus badius; immunomodulation; polysaccharide–protein.