• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2004

The immunomodulating activities and chemical characteristics of a water-soluble exopolymer from submerged mycelial culture of Phellinus pini were studied. Anticomplementary activity of this polymer was found to be $73.2\%$, and its activation system occurred through both classical and alternative pathways, where the classical pathway was detected to be the major one by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. Nitric oxide (NO) release ability and acid phosphatase activity of macrophage were increased by 1.6-fold ($100{\mu}g/ml$) and 3.4-fold ($500{\mu}g/ml$), respectively, and splenocyte proliferation in mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) was also increased by 2.6-fold ($200{\mu}g/ml$), compared to the control. The molecular weight of this polymer, determined by HPLC, was under 5 kDa. Total sugar and protein contents were 89.7 and 10.3%, respectively. Both sugar and amino acid compositions of the exopolymer were also analyzed.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.152-156
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• 1997

Platycodon root contains abundant pharmaceutical substances and is widely used as a food and a medicinal herb. The three-year-old and the 24-year-old Platycodon roots cultivated in a local farm were analysed and compared with their pharmaceutical substances to identify the major components. Reverse column HPLC analysis of ethanol extracts from the 24-year-old roots showed some distintive peaks after the retention time of 50 min which were absent in the extracts from the three-year-old roots. This indicates that several pharmaceutical substances are present in the older roots. There were no differences in sterol composition and saponin content between the 24-year and three-year-old roots. The 15-year-old and the 23-year-old Platycodon roots, the 6-year-old Ginseng root, and the three-year-old Condonopsis root all did not show significant anticomplement activity.