Isolation of the chitin-glucan complex from the fruiting bodies of mycothallus

Abstract

A four-stage procedure for the isolation of the ChGC from the biomass of natural fungi—the honey mushroom (Armillariella mellea) and the yellow morel (Morchella esculenta), belonging to the classes Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes, respectively, has been developed. The isolation procedure included deproteinization (2% NaOH + 0.1% sodium stearate, 83–85°C, 2 h), demineralization (1% HCl, 55–60°C, 2 h), depigmentation (5% H2O2 in ammonia (30–35°C, 4 h)), and deglucanization (2% NaOH, 83–85°C, 2 h). The original raw material and the chitin-containing materials were characterized on the basis of results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray analysis, and pyrolytic gas chromatography using crustacean chitin as a reference compound. The content of chitin in the final products was 70% for A. mellea and 50% for M. esculenta. The possibility of obtaining chitin-containing materials with the required properties by selecting the fungal species and treatment conditions (the succession and repetition of certain stages) is demonstrated.