Fungi have been used for medicinal purposes for long time by Asian countries, being a putative source of powerful new phytopharmaceuticals such as polysaccharides. The aim of this study was to extract endopolysaccharides (IPS) from Ganoderma resinaceum, Phlebia rufa, and Trametes versicolor, grown under submerged culture, to compare crude IPS production, total carbohydrate, and protein yield, and to study the effect of these IPS on HepG2 cells proliferation rate. Total biomass produced by G. resinaceum, P. rufa, and T. versicolor was (in gram per liter) 3.32 +/- 0.80, 5.42 +/- 0.58, and 4.2 +/- 1.29 and the IPS yield (as the biomass percent) was 9.9 +/- 0.05, 29.0 +/- 6.3, and 9.1 +/- 3.1 %, respectively. Characterization of IPS has shown different proportion between total sugar and protein being, on average 6.04, 10.74, and 22.62, for G. resinaceum, T. versicolor, and P. rufa, respectively. The IPS effect, at 50, 100, and 200 mu g mL(-1) on HepG2 cell growth and viability was negligible for G. resinaceum and P. rufa but, in the case of T. versicolor, 200 mu g mL(-1) of IPS evoked 40 % reduction on cell growth. The results suggest that the intracellular polysaccharides from T. versicolor are a potential source for bioactive molecules with anti-proliferative properties.