CHITOSAN-CONTAINING POLYSACCHARIDE, METHOD FOR PREPARING THESAME AND USE THEREOF

摘要

It is intended to provide a polysaccharide containing chitosan, a process fo r producing the same and drugs and foods containing the same. Namely, a chitos an- containing polysaccharide which is obtained by heating a mushroom in an aqueous solution of a caustic alkali at a high concentration, subjecting the mixture to solid-liquid separation, dissolving the thus obtained solid matte r in an aqueous solution of an organic acid, adding an alcohol or a caustic alkali thereto to form a precipitate, and then washing and drying the precipitate. This chitosan-containing polysaccharide is a compound wherein a glucosamine homopolymer is covalently bonded to glucan. The molar ratio of t he constituting glucosamine to glucose ranges from 1 to 5:5 to 1. It has a molecular weight of about 150,000 and contains .beta.(1.fwdarw.4) bonds and .beta.(1.fwdarw.6) bonds but no .beta.(1.fwdarw.3) bond. It is free from proteins or reducing polysaccharides. This chitosan-containing polysaccharid e is efficacious in preventing and treating life style-related diseases such a s hypertension and diabetes.