Chem. Pharm. Bull. 54(4) 496—500 (2006)

Antrodia cinnamomea CHANG TT & WN CHOU (Chinese name, niu-chang-chih or niu-chang-ku; synonym Antrodia camphorata WU SH et al.) is a new species of the genus Antrodia (family polyporaceae, Aphyllophorales) that is parasitic on the inner cavity of the endemic species Cinnamomum kanehirai HAY. This endangered species has been used in Taiwan to treat food, alcohol, and drug intoxication, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hypertension, skin itching and liver cancer as a Chinese folk medicine. The hot water extract of A. cinnamomea has hepatoprotective effect, but the responsible component remains unclear. Here we describe the separation and purification of a neutral polysaccharide named ACN2a from a hot water extract of the mycelium of A. cinnamomea. We examined the hepatoprotective activity of the extract in mice with Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes)–lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced hepatotoxicity and elucidated the structure of this polysaccharide (ACN2a) by chemical and spectroscopic means.