Polysaccharides from mushrooms Russula: a review on extraction, structural features, bioactivities, structure-activity relationships and applications.

For centuries, worldwide-distributed Russula mushrooms are used as food and traditional medicine due to their characteristic flavor, good nutritional and precious medicinal value. Polysaccharides are the main active and significant components present in Russula mushrooms and show inclusive biological properties such as immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and so on. This article highlights the several extraction methods in terms of alkali extraction, acid extraction, ultrasonic-assisted extraction, hot water extraction, and microwave-assisted extraction for the isolation of polysaccharides from Russula mushrooms. It also discusses how the structural features of Russula polysaccharides, such as monosaccharide composition, backbone structure, molecular weight, chemical modifications, mode of linkage, and degree of branching are highly related to their biological activities. This article systematically summarized the different extraction approaches, structural features, biological activities and applications of Russula polysaccharides. These will provide a valuable insight for improving the future research, progress, and utilization of Russula polysaccharides.