Improved Extraction Yield, Water Solubility, and Antioxidant Activity of Lentinan from <i>Lentinula edodes</i> via <i>Bacillus subtilis natto</i> Fermentation

Abstract

Lentinan has important applications in the food and medicine fields. Fermenting Lentinula edodes with Bacillus subtilis natto increased the lentinan extraction yield by 87.13% and greatly altered the molecular structure and antioxidant activity of lentinan. The uronic acid content in the lentinan molecular structure increased from 2.08% to 4.33%. The fermentation process did not affect the monosaccharide composition of lentinan, comprised of more than 90% glucose residues. Fermentation significantly reduced the molecular weight of lentinan and altered its apparent structure. The water solubility of fermented lentinan was increased by 165.07%, and the antioxidant activity was significantly improved. Fermentation using soybean as a substrate may be beneficial for enhancing the activity of Bacillus subtilis natto and producing lentinan with different molecular weights.

Keywords

• <i>Lentinula edodes</i>
• Lentinan
• <i>Bacillus subtilis natto</i>
• biotransformation
• antioxidant activity