Optimized Extraction and Antioxidant Activities of Polysaccharides from Two Entomogenous Fungi

Genus Isaria belongs to phylum Ascomycota and class Sordariomycetes with worldwide distribution. Many Ascomycetes species have been used as the source of disease combating natural products with tremendous biological, pharmacological and immunomodulatory activities. Cordyceps militaris, C. sinensis, C. ophioglossoides etc. have been found to contain abundant kind of active compounds and extensively used in East Asia fortreatment of anti- inflammation, renal dysfunction, asthma, and cancer. Biological active compounds extracted from many species of entomopathogenic genera have shown far reaching liver protective effects, anti-oxidative activity, enhancing the T-cell and macrophages activity, vascular endothelial growth factor levels in the lungs and liver by exopolysaccharide fraction, reduction in cholesterol and triglyceride.

Polysaccharides extracted from the mycelium of these fungi constitute the main bioactive agents and exhibit multiple pharmacological activities including antitumor, anti- inflammatory, immunopotentiation,hypoglycemic and hypocholesterolemic effects, protection of neuronal cells against the free radical- induced cellular toxicity, steroidogenesis and antioxidant activities.