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This study was initiated in order to investigate the anticancer and immunomodulating activities of crude polysaccharides extracted in methanol, neutral saline, and hot water (hereinafter referred to as Fr. MeOH, Fr. NaCl, and Fr. HW, respectively) from the fruiting bodies of Panellus serotinus. Content of β-glucan and protein in Fr. MeOH, Fr. NaCl, and Fr. HW extracts of P. serotinus ranged from 22.92~28.52 g/100 g and 3.24-3.68 g/100 g, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity tests, none of the various fractions of crude polysaccharides were cytotoxic against sarcoma 180, HT-29, NIH3T3, and RAW 264.7 cell lines at the tested concentration. Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides resulted in a life prolongation effect of 23.53-44.71% in mice previously inoculated with sarcoma 180. Treatment with Fr. HW resulted in an increase in the numbers of spleen cells by 1.3 fold at the concentration of 50 μg/mL compared with control. Treatment with Fr. NaCl resulted in improvement of the immuno-potentiating activity of B lymphocytes by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by 1.4 fold, compared with control, at the concentration of 200 μg/mL. Among the three fractions, maximum nitric oxide (13.48 μM) was recorded at 500 μg/mL in Fr. HW. Production of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 was significantly higher, compared to the positive control, concanavalin A, at the tested concentration. Therefore, treatment with crude polysaccharides extracted from the fruiting body of P. serotinus could result in improvement of antitumor activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentinus lepideus is an edible mushroom currently available in Korea. The acetone, methanol and hot water extracts were prepared and assayed for their antioxidant and antityrosinase inhibitory activities. The hot water extract showed the strongest β-carotene-linoleic acid inhibition compared to the other extracts. At 8 mg/mL, the methanolic extract showed a high reducing power of 1.21. The acetone and methanol extracts were more effective in scavenging DPPH radicals than the hot water extract. The strongest chelating effect was obtained from the methanolic extract. Xanthine oxidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities of the acetonic, methanol and hot water extracts increased with increasing concentration. Gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, vanillin, naringin, naringenin, formononetin, and biochanin-A were detected in the acetonitrile and hydrochloric acid (5:1) solvent extract. This study suggests that fruiting bodies of L. lepideus can potentially be used as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular damage caused by reactive oxygen species has been implicated in several diseases, thus establishing a significant role for antioxidants in maintaining human health. Acetone, methanol, and hot water extracts of Pleurotus citrinopileatus were evaluated for their antioxidant activities against β-carotene-linoleic acid and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, reducing power, ferrous ion-chelating abilities, and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities. In addition, the tyrosinase inhibitory effects and phenolic compound contents of the extracts were also analyzed. Methanol and acetone extracts of P. citrinopileatus showed stronger inhibition of β-carotene-linoleic acid compared to the hot water extract. Methanol extract (8 mg/mL) showed a significantly high reducing power of 2.92 compared to the other extracts. The hot water extract was more effective than the acetone and methanole extracts for scavenging DPPH radicals. The strongest chelating effect (92.72%) was obtained with 1.0 mg/mL of acetone extract. High performance liquid chromatography analysis detected eight phenolic compounds, including gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, naringenin, hesperetin, formononetin, and biochanin-A, in an acetonitrile and hydrochloric acid (5 : 1) solvent extract. Xanthine oxidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities of the acetone, methanol, and hot water extracts increased with increasing concentration. This study suggests that fruiting bodies of P. citrinopileatus can potentially be used as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleurotus florida has been widely used for nutritional and medicinal purposes. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the fruiting bodies of P. florida extracted with acetone, methanol, and hot water. The antioxidant activities of the acetone and methanol extracts of P. florida showed stronger inhibition of β-carotene-linoleic acid compared to that of the hot water extract. The acetone extract (8 mg/mL) showed a high reducing power of 1.86. The acetone and methanol extracts showed more effective DPPH radical scavenging activities than the hot water extract. The chelating effect of the extracts at lower concentrations was significantly effective compared to that of the positive control. Thirteen phenolic compounds were detected from acetonitrile and hydrochloric acid solvent extracts. Nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in lipolysaccahride (LPS) stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, a murine macrophage cell line, were inhibited significantly by the mushroom extracts in a concentration dependent manner. The anti-inflammatory activity on carrageenan-induced edema in the rat hind-paw reduced significantly by the mushroom extracts. Therefore, we have demonstrated that P. florida fruiting bodies possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activites related to their inhibitory activities on NO production, iNOS protein expression, and carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats. The results suggest that the fruiting bodies of P. florida are a good source of natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleurotus nebrodensis is an edible and conunercially available mushroom in Korea. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the anticancer and immunopotentiating activities of crude polysaccharides, extracted in methanol, neutral saline, and hot water (hereafter referred to as Fr. MeOH, Fr. NaCI, and Fr. HW, respectively) from the fruiting bodies of P nebrodensis. β-Glucan and protein contents in Fr. MeOH, Fr. NaCI, and Fr. 11W extracts of P nebrodensis ranged from 23.79-36.63 g/100 g and 4.45-6.12 g/100 g, respectively. Crude polysaccharides were not cytotoxic against sarcoma 180, HT- 29, NIH3T3, and RAW. 264.7 cell lines at a range of 10-2,000 μg/mL. Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides resulted in a life prolongation effect of 11.76-27.06% in mice previously inoculated with sarcoma 180. Treatment with Fr. NaCI resulted in an increase in the nwnbers of spleen cells by 1.49 fold at the concentration of 50 μg/mL, compared with control. Fr. 11W improved the immuno-potentiating activity of B lymphocytes through an increase in alkaline phosphatase activity by 1.65 fold, compared with control at 200 μg/mL. Maximum production of nitric oxide (14.3 μM) was recorded in the Fr. NaCI fraction at 200 μg/mL. Production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and inter- leukin-6 (IL-6) was significantly higher, compared to control, and IL-6 production was highest, in contrast to TNF-α, IL- 1β, and positive control, concanavalin at the tested concentration of the various fractions. Results of the current study suggest that polysaccharides extracted from P nebrodensis have a strong anticancer effect and may be useful as an ingredient of biopharmaceutical products for treatment of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wild edible mushroom, Lentinus lepideus has recently been cultivated for commercial use in Korea. While the mushroom has been widely used for nutritional and medicinal purposes, the possible anti-hyperlipidemic action is unclear. The effects of dietary L. lepideus on plasma and feces biochemical and on the liver histological status were investigated in hypercholesterolemic rats. Six-wk-old female Sprague-Dawley albino rats were divided into three groups of 10 rats each. Biochemical and histological examinations were performed. A diet containing 5% L. lepideus fruiting bodies reduced plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, total lipid, phospholipids, and the ratio of low-density to high-density lipoprotein. Body weight was reduced. The diet did not adversely affect plasma biochemical and enzyme profiles. L. lepideus reduced significantly plasma β- and pre-β-lipoprotein, while α-lipoprotein content was increased. A histological study of hepatic cells by conventional hematoxylin-eosin and oil red O staining revealed normal findings for mushroom-fed hypercholesterolemic rats. The present study suggests that a diet supplemented with L. lepideus can provide health benefits by acting on the atherogenic lipid profile in hypercholesterolemic rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]