Coriolus versicolor, a popular traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is widely used in China to treat spleen and liver diseases; however, the beneficial effects of C. versicolor polysaccharides (CVPs) on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain elusive. Herein we isolated and purified a novel CVP (molecular weight, 17,478 Da) from fermented mycelium powder. This CVP was composed of mannose, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, xylose, and fucose at a molar ratio of 22:1:8:15:10:3. Methylation, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses indicated that the CVP backbone consisted of →1)-β-D-Man-(6,4→1)-α-D-Gal-(3→1)-α-D-Man-(4→1)-α-D-Gal-(6→, with branches of →1)-α-D-Glc-(6→1)-α-D-Man-(4,3→1)-β-D-Xyl-(2→1)-β-D-Glc on the O-6 position of →1)-β-D-Man-(6,4→ of the main chain. The secondary branches linked to the O-4 position of →1)-α-D-Man-(4,3→ with the chain of →1)-α-D-Fuc-(4→1)-α-D-Man. Further, CVP treatment alleviated the symptoms of NAFLD in an HFD-induced mice model. CVP altered gut microbiota, predominantly suppressing microbes associated with bile acids both in the serum and cecal contents. In vitro data showed that CVP reduced HFD-induced hyperlipidemia via farnesoid X receptor. Our results improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the cholesterol- and lipid-lowering effects of CVP and indicate that CVP is a promising candidate for NAFLD therapy.

polysaccharides, gut microbiota, bile acid, gut-liver axis, NAFLD

1H NMR data:
Linkage	Residue	H1	H2	H3	H4	H5	H6
3,4,6,6,6,3,2	bDGlcp	4.63	4.08	3.89	3.77	3.67	3.42
3,4,6,6,6,3	bDXylp	4.57	3.57	3.88	3.71	3.66
3,4,6,6,6,4,3	aDManp	5.09	4.12	3.91	3.78	3.68	3.58
3,4,6,6,6,4	aDFucp	4.94	3.99	3.99	3.69	3.61	1.15
3,4,6,6,6	aDManp	5.25	4.12	3.23	4.08	3.60	3.15
3,4,6,6	aDGlcp	5.04	3.89	3.81	3.77	3.67	3.55
3,4,6	bDManp	4.78	4.12	3.91	3.58	3.68	3.99
3,4	aDGalp	5.29	3.91	3.83	3.70	4.14	3.42
3	aDManp	5.32	4.00	3.84	3.77	3.69	3.20
	aDGalp	4.98	4.04	4.19	3.70	3.65	3.25

There is only one chemically distinct structure:

SVGMWSMILES3D molIonize

 

[*]O[C@@H]1[C@@H](CO[C@H]2O[C@H](CO[C@H]3O[C@H](CO)[C@@H](O[C@H]4O[C@H](C)[C@H](O)[C@H](O[C@H]5O[C@H](CO)[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@@H]5O)[C@H]4O)[C@H](O[C@@H]4OC[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H]4O[C@@H]4O[C@H](CO)[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H]4O)[C@@H]3O)[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H]2O)O[C@@H](OC[C@H]2O[C@H](O[C@@H]3[C@@H](CO)O[C@H](O[C@@H]4[C@@H](O)[C@@H]([*])O[C@H](CO)[C@@H]4O)[C@@H](O)[C@H]3O)[C@H](O)[C@@H](O)[C@H]2O)[C@@H](O)[C@H]1O

1575.385 g/mol (C₅₉H₉₈R₂O₄₈, R = next and previous repeats, not counted in mol weight)