Abstract:  Fungal polysaccharides are a kind of important bioactive substances, which exhibit several positive effects on human. Extraction of fungal polysaccharide is the basis for further development of products. This study employed the high-pressure homogenization strategy for extraction of intracellular polysaccharide from Hericeum erinaceus, comparing with the conventional methods of hot water extraction and ultrasonic extraction. The experimental results showed that the polysaccharide yields by high-pressure homogenization reached 16.42%, which exhibited significant advantages over hot water extraction and ultrasonic extraction. The total sugar contents via the three methods were 57.11%, 58.45% and 60.23%, respectively; whereas the protein contents were 26.34%, 15.45% and 10.12%, respectively. The molecular weight of polysaccharides by high-pressure homogenization and ultrasonic extraction was relatively lower than that of hot water extraction. The FT-IR spectra analysis revealed that the peak shape and peak position of polysaccharides by various methods were in concordance with each other.

Key words: high-pressure homogenization, fungal polysaccharides, Hericeum erinaceus, extraction