Fermentation-derived Ganoderma polysaccharides: Bioprocessing strategies, structure-activity relationships, and...

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Biotechnology
• Mycology

Background:

• Mushroom polysaccharides are functional food ingredients with inconsistent bioactivities due to poor structural resolution and comparability.
• Ganoderma polysaccharides are often evaluated by yield or origin, hindering reproducible structure-function interpretations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine fermentation-derived Ganoderma polysaccharides using a process-structure-function framework.
• To integrate advances in fermentation engineering, biosynthesis, and structural characterization.
• To establish structural definition and functional reproducibility as key quality criteria.

Main Methods:

• Review integrating recent advances in fermentation engineering, biosynthesis, and structural characterization.
• Analysis of submerged fermentation as a platform for tailoring polysaccharide molecular attributes.
• Examination of the link between structural determinants and various bioactivities.

Main Results:

• Submerged fermentation offers a controllable platform for tailoring polysaccharide molecular weight, branching, composition, and conformation.
• Specific structural determinants are critically linked to antioxidant, metabolic, antihypertensive, immunomodulatory, and techno-functional properties.
• Fermentation provides improved reproducibility and structural tunability compared to fruiting-body extraction, but requires standardization.

Conclusions:

• Structural definition and functional reproducibility are paramount for polysaccharide quality, superseding mere productivity.
• Predictive fermentation design can be supported by establishing clear process-structure-function relationships.
• Standardization is crucial to prevent yield-driven compromises in polysaccharide structure and quality.