Optimization of production conditions for mushroom polysaccharides with high yield and antitumor activity

Single factor experiment and response surface methodology were conducted to optimize the production conditions for polysaccharide with higher antitumor activity from mushroom fermentation broth. Based on the results of single factor experiments, a central composite design was applied to the following optimization and second-order polynomial regression models were established. As the yield and antitumor activity of the polysaccharides were considered with equal weight, the optimal conditions were that ethanol concentration and pH of the broth was adjusted to 85.00% and 7.70 respectively, then precipitated at 12 °C for 1 h and dried the precipitates at 40 °C. The verification experiments completed under the optimal conditions gave the polysaccharides yield of 9.843 ± 0.217 g/l, and the cancer cell growth inhibitory rate of 83.69 ± 0.167% by the polysaccharides, which were in close agreement with values predicted by the models (RSD < 5%).