Identification and Quantification of α-D-Glucopyranosyl-Isomaltol, α-D-Maltosyl-Isomaltol, and α-Glucan in AHCC® Cultured Mushroom Mycelia Extract

Abstract

Consumer demand and use of mushrooms and their extracts for health promotion is increasing in the United States and worldwide. In order to further advance the science and quality assurance of mushroom products and ingredients, analytical data is needed to identify and standardize biochemical markers. This information is also needed to help prevent fraudulent products from entering the market. Three carbohydrate compounds, two of which have not yet been noted in mush-rooms, have been identified and quantified in a standardized extract of cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia (AHCC®, Amino Up Co. Ltd., Sapporo, Japan). α-D-glucopyranosyl-isomaltol and α-D-maltosyl-isomaltol, collectively referred to as “active hexose correlated compound,” were quantified with pure standards using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. α-Glucan content was quantified using a glucose autokit. Samples from three separate lots were analyzed. The mean concentration of α-D-glucopyranosyl-isomaltol was 990.2 + 330.1 μg/g and 184.2 + 86.8 μg/g for α-D-maltosyl-iso-maltol. α-Glucan was present at 26.2 ± 0.5% of dry matter. To help prevent low-quality or counterfeit mushroom items from being sold, especially via websites, precise identification and quantification of marker compounds in medicinal mushroom extracts will support the differentiation of products, enhance research efforts and aid in consumer acceptance.