The present invention herein provides a chitosan-containing polysaccharide
and a method for the preparation thereof as well as a medicine and a food
containing the polysaccharide.The chitosan-containing polysaccharide is
prepared by a method comprising the steps of heat-treating a fungus in a
concentrated aqueous caustic alkali solution; subjecting the resulting
solution to a solid-liquid separation treatment; dissolving the resulting
solid contents in an aqueous organic acid solution; adding, to the
resulting solution, an alcohol or a caustic alkali to thus form
precipitates; washing the resulting precipitates; and then drying them.
This chitosan-containing polysaccharide is a compound in which
homopolymers of glucosamine are linked with glucan through covalent
bonds; it has a molar ratio of glucosamine and glucose constituting the
polysaccharide ranging from 1:5 to 5:1; it has a molecular weight of
about 150,000; and it does not contain any .beta.(1.fwdarw.3) bonds, but
comprises .beta.(1.fwdarw.4) bonds and .beta.(1.fwdarw.6) bonds. The
polysaccharide is free of any protein and reducing polysaccharide. The
chitosan-containing polysaccharide is effective for the treatment or
prevention of any diseases originated from living habits or customs such
as hypertension and diabetes.