Fractionation plays a big role in most of the sample processing especially in mushroom polysaccharides extraction. This intermediate step will determine further purification process which will lead to the type of polysaccharides that will be obtained. Four types of Ganoderma lucidum cultured medium used in the research papers were randomly chosen. They are spores, mycelia, fruiting body and fermentation broth. For water soluble polysaccharides, hot water extraction is typically applied. The following ethanol precipitation could be appropriate used to sediment the component with OH-group including polysaccharide. The next step of fractionation consist of anion exchange chromatography or gel filtration enhance the purity of polysaccharides. Using these extraction and fractionation techniques, high quality polysaccharides could be successfully obtained from the mushroom that are useful for further studies. This review examined the various extraction and fractionation techniques used in the study of polysaccharides from G. lucidum.
Part of the book: Fractionation