Five different methods described in the literature were used for the isolation of alpha-(1->3)-glucans from the cell wall of fruiting bodies of Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.:Fr.) Murrill, and their comparative analysis was performed. The separated fungal biopolymers were well-characterized in respect of their structure and some physicochemical properties. Structural analyses, i.e., Fourier-transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and specific rotation, revealed that the alkali-soluble wall fraction from this basidiomycetous fungus contained about 56% of (1->3)-linked alpha-glucans. Four out of five alpha-(1->3)-glucans isolated by different methods from the mycelium of the polypore fungus L. sulphureus induced higher activity of fungal and bacterial mutanase than those obtained on mutan. Therefore, the alpha-(1->3)-glucans from fruiting bodies of L. sulphureus can be used as a new alternative to streptococcal mutan, which so far has been known as the best inducer of mutanase production
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