Designing mushroom polysaccharides through chemical derivatization: physico-chemical properties, improved...

In recent decades, mushroom polysaccharides have emerged as astounding biological macromolecules with more than 3800 publications indexed in PubMed between the years 2005 and 2025. However their applications are often restricted by sub-optimal bioprospects which can effectively be overcome through chemical modifications. Such strategies significantly influence key physico-chemical attributes such as molecular weight, solubility, and conformation; thereby enhancing bioactivities, and pharmacokinetic behavior. Increasing evidences indicate that these approaches improve a range of therapeutic effects including antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-proliferative, antitumor, immunomodulatory, and anti-coagulant perspectives, primarily through modulating key signaling pathways, and enzymatic functions. Despite growing research interest, a systematic synthesis of structure-activity relationship, and underlying molecular mechanism of chemically modified macrofungal polysaccharides remains lacking. This review hence addresses this critical gap by examining findings published over the past decades, with a specific focus on four major processes such as sulfation, phosphorylation, acetylation, and carboxymethylation. Furthermore, it highlights the emerging applications of these modified bio-polymers in food systems (preservative, additive, prebiotic, emulsifier, packaging, processing aid, drug delivery, and 3D printing), pharmaceutical, and advanced material (hydrogel, and bioplastics) development; while emphasizing need for toxicological assessment, and development of eco-friendly modification strategies to facilitate sustainable large-scale applications.