Liquid culture of Pleurotus nebrodensis mycelium with high yield and extraction and anti-fatigue activity of its polysaccharides

In this study, the liquid culture system of Pleurotus nebrodensis mycelium with high yield were established by using orthogonal experiments. Results indicated a 58.08 % increase in mycelium biomass and a 2.22 % increase in polysaccharide content after condition optimization. Experiments showed that the extracted polysaccharides have significant antioxidant and anti-exercise fatigue activities. They could effectively scavenge DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl free radicals and superoxide anaion, prolong weight-loaded swimming time in mice, reduce levels of MDA, LD, and LDH in serum, enhance SOD activity, as well as increase hepatic and muscle glycogen reserves. The mechanism may be attributed to the activation of the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway, inhibition of oxidative stress, and subsequent exerting anti-fatigue effects. The results in this work provides new avenue for easily accessible natural polysaccharide resources with a very convenient approach, which is beneficial for the development of anti-fatigue functional foods for public consumption.