ABSTRACT
Fungi have traditionally been used as medicine as early as 3000 BC. They were regarded as a valuable resource of natural antibiotics and other biologically active compounds, especially after the discovery of penicillin in 1929. The cell wall of mushrooms contains different types of polysaccharides with various biological properties, such as antitumor, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidant and immune-modulating activities. Medicinal fungal research is focused on the discovery of compounds that can modulate the biologic response of immune cells. The fungal cell wall contains polysaccharides as a structural component. Fungal polysaccharides are known for their antitumor activity, which fluctuates with their chemical structure and physical properties. Mushroom polysaccharides possess certain physicochemical characteristics, which help them to interact and bind with the receptors present on the surface of the tumor cells to induce apoptosis of the cancer cells.
