Physicochemical, structural, digestive stability, and microbiota effects of five edible mushroom polysaccharides...

EMPs are widely used for their food-medicine characteristics and bioactivities. However, the lack of unified standards has resulted in inconsistent product quality. In this study, crude polysaccharides were extracted and purified from five EMP products purchased from the Chinese market, namely, polysaccharides from Wolfiporia cocos (F.A. Wolf) Ryvarden & Gilb. polysaccharide (WCP), Agaricus blazei Murill polysaccharide (ABP), Flammulina velutipes polysaccharide (FVP), Cordyceps militaris (L. ex Fr.) Link polysaccharide (CMP), and Tremella fuciformis Berk polysaccharide (TFP). The physicochemical properties, structural elucidation, in vitro digestion, and gut microbiota modulatory activities of the purified polysaccharides were then examined. The polysaccharides consisted of heteroglucans containing galactose, mannose, fucose, xylose, and arabinose. After simulated gastrointestinal digestion, all five polysaccharides showed adequate anti-digestive properties, with WCP and CMP outperforming the others. Fecal fermentation experiments indicated that gut microbiota could use these polysaccharides to produce short-chain fatty acids. The polysaccharides significantly increased the relative abundance of Actinomycetota and Bacillota, while decreasing Pseudomonadota and Fusobacteriota. ABP and CMP regulatory effects were stronger than those of inulin. The findings can help establish a quality evaluation system for EMPs and provide preliminary evidence for gut microbiota modulation activity of ABP and CMP in functional foods.