Lingzhi Mushroom Beta Glucan

There is no ready-made "glucan warehouse" in the fruiting bodies, spore powder or mycelium of Ganoderma lucidum. It is "made and used" by the fungus during its growth through a complete set of enzymatic assembly lines:

Raw material preparation: Glucose is first converted into glucose-6-phosphate by glucokinase (GK), and then converted into glucose-1-phosphate by glucose phosphomutase (PGM), which is the "starting point" of all Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides.

Glycosyl activation: Glucose-1-phosphate is "packaged" into high-energy "glycosyl express" such as UDP-glucose and GDP-mannose under the action of enzymes such as UGPase and dTGPase.

Polymerization and branching: lingzhi mushroom β-glucan synthase connects UDP-glucose into the main chain through β-(1→3) bonds, and every 3-7 glucose residues are attached with a side branch through β-(1→6) bonds, forming a typical "trunk + antenna" structure; at the same time, glycosyltransferase inserts a small amount of mannose, galactose and other miscellaneous sugars, and finally generates a complex macromolecule with the characteristics of both glucan and heteropolysaccharides.

• Intracellular polysaccharides: remain in the cell wall to support the mycelial morphology;

• Extracellular polysaccharides: secreted into the fermentation liquid to help Ganoderma lucidum resist external stress.

Throughout the process, the activity of β-glucan synthase (GS) directly determines the proportion of glucan in the main chain, while the branching enzyme determines the water solubility and activity intensity.

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