Triterpenes and Soluble Polysaccharide Changes in Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum (Agaricomycetes), During Fruiting Growth.

We analyzed the changes in triterpenes and soluble polysaccharides in Ganoderma lucidum strain G0119 during 4 growth phases in 3 regions of the fruiting bodies using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and we also analyzed the soluble polysaccharides using high-performance size-exclusion chroma-tography-multiple-angle laser-light scattering refractive index analysis. The strong polar triterpenes decreased while weak polar triterpenes increased during the growth cycle of G. lucidum. The highest contents of ganoderic acid B, ganoderic acid A, and ganoderenic acid B were detected in the stipe during phase II, and ganoderic acid S, ganoderic acid T, and ganoderiol B peaked in the base during phase IV. The total content of soluble polysaccharides in samples decreased after the primordium developed into a fruiting body. Two high-molecular-weight fractions were detected in the soluble polysaccharide samples: α-l,4-glucan and β-l,3-glucan, respectively. They were primarily distributed in the pileus during phase II, and both decreased after this phase. These results led us to select a more suitable growth phase and region for harvesting to obtain extracts with higher contents of triterpenes and soluble polysaccharides.