Kureha Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Kureha Chemical Industry Company, Limited

Eiichi Takahashi

Toshihiko Wada

Takayoshi Fujii

Chikao Yoshikumi

Fumio Hirose

Saburo Ueno

Yoshio Omura

Yoshio Ohmura

Yutaka Konai

Eisaku Takahashi

Katsumi Kawaguchi

Kohki Saitoh

Satoshi Fujimoto

Shigeto Ohtsuka

Mitsuhiko Nishiki

Toshiya Kase

This invention provides highly thermally stable trehalose phosphorylases. The trehalose phosphorylases of the present invention can be obtained from cultured mixture of microorganisms and are highly thermally stable, and produce .alpha.-D-glucose 1-phosphate and D-glucose by an action on trehalose and an inorganic phosphoric acid or salt thereof, or trehalose by an action on .alpha.-D-glucose 1-phosphate and D-glucose. This invention also relates to the process for the preparation of trehalose phosphorylase, and trehalose or .alpha.-D-glucose 1-phosphate with said trehalose phosphorylase.

Trehalose phosphorylase and preparation thereof

Substance BS-3, a polysaccharide, produced by a microorganism belonging to the genus Klebsiella is disclosed, BS-3 having the following properties: main constituting sugar: rhamnose, galactose, glucose, and glucuronic acid; white to pale brown powder; easily soluble in water and sparingly soluble in methanol, ethyl acetate, benzene, etc.; viscosity: 1 to 8,000 cps; molecular weight: 1,000 to 10,000,000; positive in phenol-sulfuric acid reaction, carbazole-sulfuric acid reaction, Molisch's reaction, and ninhydrin reaction. BS-3 is useful as a heat-resistance stabilizer for a fat and oil emulsion and an anti-oxidant for fats and oils in an emulsion and also as an analgesic composition.

Substance BS-3

Disclosed is nitrogen-containing polysaccharide substantially free of units having a molecular weight below about 5,000, said nitrogen-containing polysaccharide having been extracted from Coriolus versicolor (Fr.) Quel., substantially all polymer units having a molecular weight below about 5,000 having been removed therefrom, which exhibits antitumor and immunological activity.

Nitrogen-containing polysaccharide

A method of restoring the immune response of a patient having a lowered immune response level is provided, in which the patient is given an effective amount of certain nitrogen-containing polysaccharides derived from Coriolus versicolor (Fr.) Quel, where the polymer units having a molecular weight of below about 5,000 have been removed therefrom.

The fungi belonging to the Coriolus genus is first extracted with water or a dilute alkaline solution and then further extracted stepwise by using alkaline solutions with gradually increased concentrations to obtain a nitrogen-containing polysaccharide having an anti-tumor activity in a high yield.

Method of producing nitrogen-containing polysaccharides

The fungi belonging to the Coriolus genus are extracted by using a dilute alkaline solution having a concentration within a certain specified range whereby the low molecular weight substances with molecular weight of less than 5,000 are obtained in there extract solution. These low molecular weight substances are separated from the extract solution to obtain a nitrogen-containing polysaccharide having excellent anti-tumor activity.

Polysaccharides are produced by purifying a liquid extract of a mycelium of a strain of fungus species belonging to the class Basidiomycetes or the filtered broth of a cultured medium in which a mycelium of a selected strain of Basidiomycetes has been incubated; the polysaccharides exhibiting an anticarcinogenic activity in mice.

Growing community of inventors

Kawaguchi, Japan

Eiichi Takahashi