Enzymatic hydrolysis of polysaccharide from Auricularia auricula and characterization of the degradation product

An efficient enzymatic hydrolysis method was developed and optimized for the degradation of auricularia auricula polysaccharide (AAP) and the degradation product of AAP was characterized. Cellulase was used for the degradation of AAP. The yield of reducing sugar and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging rate were used as indices to optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis of AAP, based on response surface methodology (RSM). The resulting optimal enzymolysis conditions were as follows: enzyme dosage, 13,500 U/g; enzymolysis temperature, 50 °C; and pH, 4.2. Under these conditions, the actual yield of reducing sugar was 16.50 mg/mL and the DPPH radical scavenging rate was 87.97%. The degradation product of AAP (C-EAAP) was homogeneous and contained alpha and beta glycoside bonds, but did not contain protein or nucleic acid. The molecular weight of the degradation product was 5.94 × 105 Da. Monosaccharide composition analysis revealed that C-EAAP was composed of mannose (57.1%), glucuronic acid (10.0%), rhamnose (0.4%), glucose (22.5%), galactose (2.9%), xylose (6.0%), and fucose (1.1%). The antioxidant activity of the polysaccharide indicated that C-EAAP had better antioxidant activity than AAP. The scavenging rates of C-EAAP for hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and superoxide anion radicals (O2−·) were 1.65 and 1.90 times those of AAP.