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본 연구에서는 맛버섯의 자실체로부터 메탄올과 열수를 이용하여 추출한 물질의 항산화와 항염증 효과를 탐색하였다. DPPH 라디칼 소거능과 환원력을 이용해 항산화 효과를 측정한 결과 양성대조군으로 사용한 BHT나 토코페롤에 비해 낮았지만 다른 종류의 버섯에 비해 효과가 우수한 것을 확인하였다. 금속이온 제거 항산화 실험에서는 맛버섯의 메탄올 추출물의 효과가 양성대조군인 BHT나 토코페롤에 비해 월등하게 높아서 맛버섯의 자실체 추출물은 높은 항산화 효과를 지닌 것으로 나타났다. 맛버섯의 항염증 저해 효과 실험에서는 RAW 264.7 대식세포가 배양되고 있는 배지에 맛버섯 자실체의 메탄올 및 열수 추출물로 각각 전 처리 한 후 염증매개 물질인 LPS를 투여하여 맛 버섯 추출물의 NO 생성 저해효과를 조사하였다. 실험 결과, 첨가된 맛버섯 추출물의 농도가 증가함에 따라 생성된 NO의 양이 현저하게 감소하는 경향을 나타내었다. 또한 맛버섯의 추출물이 carrageenan에 의해 흰쥐 뒷발에 유도된 부종 저해 실험에서는 투여한 맛버섯의 추출물 농도가 증가함에 따라 흰쥐의 뒷발에 유도된 부종의 용적이 농도 의존적으로 감소되는 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 맛버섯 자실체에 함유된 항산화 및 항염증 물질은 천연 항산화제나 항염증제로 이용이 가능할 것으로 사료된다. 【Pholiota nameko is an edible mushroom belonged to Family Strophariaceae of Agaricales, Basidiomycota. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities for the methanol and hot water extracts prepared from fruiting bodies of Pholiota nameko. Besides measuring for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity, a reducing power and a chelating activity on ferrous ions were also measured to evaluate the antioxidant activity for those extracts. To measure the anti-inflammatory activities for the extracts, nitric oxide(NO) production from lipopolysaccharide treated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells and carrageenan-induced acute hind paw edema of rats were investigated. The results showed that those extracts has a excellent chelating activity on the ferrous ions compared with positive controls. And it also turned out that extracts had a good DPPH activity and a reducing power. The NO production in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells were decreasing as we increased concentration of those mushroom extracts. Significant reduction of paw edema were also observed at 2~6 h after we treated methanol and hot-water extracts at the 50 mg/kg concentration to the rats which are induced acute hind paw edema by carrageenan treatment. The experimental results suggested that methanol and hot-water extracts of Pholiota nameko fruiting bodies might be used for potential source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.】

Elfvingia applanata, a medicinal mushroom belonging to Basidiomycota, has been used in the effort to cure cancers of the esophagus and stomach, and is also known to have inhibitory effects on hepatitis B virus infection. The hot water soluble fraction (as Fr. HW) was extracted from fruiting bodies of the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests showed that hot water extract was not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as Sarcoma 180, HT-29, HepG2, and TR at concentrations of 10~2,000 µg/mL. Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. HW resulted in a life prolongation effect of 45.2% in mice previously inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Treatment of Fr. HW resulted in a 2.53-fold increase in the numbers of murine spleen cells at a concentration of 50 µg/mL, compared with control. Incubation of murine spleen cells with Fr. HW at a concentration of 500 µg/mL resulted in improved immune-potwntiating activity of B lymphocytes through an 8.3-folds increase in alkaline phosphatase activity, compared with control. Fr. HW generated 12.5 µM of nitric oxide (NO) when cultured with RAW 264.7, a mouse macrophage cell line, at the concentration of 50 µg/mL, while lipopolysaccharide, a positive control, produced 15.2 µM of NO. Therefore, the results suggested that antitumor activities of Fr. HW from E. applanata might, in part, be due to host mediated immunostimulating activity.

Lentinus lepideus, known as train wrecker fungus, has been used for nutritional and medicinal purposes. Recently, commercial cultivation technique and a new cultivar of the mushroom were developed. To investigate the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship for identifying the mushroom strains and cultivar, one commercial and 13 strains of Lentinus lepideus from different geographical regions of Korea were analyzed by ITS regions of rDNA and RAPD of genomic DNA. Three strains of Lentinus edodes were also used for the analysis. The size of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of rDNA from the different strains varied from 173 to 179 bp and 203 to 205 bp, respectively. The sequence of ITS1 was more variable than that of ITS2, while the 5.8S sequences were identical with 156 base pairs. A phylogenetic tree based on the ITS region sequences indicated that selected strains could be classified into four clusters, while 3 strains of L. edodes was divided into a new cluster. Ten primers out of 20 arbitrary primers used in the RAPD-PCR efficiently amplified the genomic DNA. The numbers of amplified DNA bands varied with the primers and strains, with polymorphic DNA fragments in the range from 0.2 to 2.6 kb. The results showed that phylogenetic relationship among Korean strains of Lentnus lepideus is high, but genetic diversity is low.

Pleurotus spp. have been used for edible and medicinal purposes in Asian countries for a long time. The fruiting bodies of the Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus citrinopileatus and Pleurotus salmoneostramineus contained many physiologically beneficial substances for human health. Therefore, it is necessary to study the genetic diversity of Pleurotus mushroom cultivars commercially cultivated in Korea. Eleven strains of Pleurotus spp. were collected from different geographical regions in South-East Asia and ITS regions of rDNA and RAPD of genomic DNA were analyzed. The size of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of rDNA from the different strains varied from 167 to 254 bp and 156 to 213 bp, respectively. The sequence of ITS1 was more variable than that of ITS2, and the 5.8S sequences were identical. A phylogenetic tree based on the ITS region sequences indicated that selected strains could be classified into 4 clusters. Eleven Pleurotus species were also analyzed by RAPD with 20 arbitrary primers. Ten of these primers were efficiently amplified the genomic DNA. The number of amplified bands varied with the primers and strains, with polymorphic fragments in the range from 0.1 to 2.0kb. The results revealed that genetic diversity of selected strains of P. ostreatus, P. citrinopileatus and P. salmoneostramineus is low.

Hericium erinaceus, an edible and medicinal mushroom belonging to the Basidiomyco ta family, has been used for curing gastric ulcers and stomach cancers in human beings and is also known to have good inhibitory effects on sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich carcinoma in mice. Neutral saline soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to as Fr. NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr. MeOH, respectively) were extracted from the fruiting body of the mushroom. In in vitro cytotoxicity tests, crude polysaccharides were not cytotoxic against cell lines such as Sarcoma 180, HepG2, HT-29 and NIH3T3 at concentrations of 10~2,000 μg/ml. Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides exhibited a life prolongation effect of 29.1~54.1% in mice previously inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Fr. Na increased the numbers of spleen cells by 2.9 fold at a concentration of 50 μg/ml compared with the control. Fr. Na improved the immuno-potentiating activity of B lymphocytes by increasing alkaline phosphatase activity by 5.5 fold compared with the control at a concentration of 200 μg/ml. Fr. NaCl increased the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes by 4 and 2.3 folds at a concentration of 50 mg/kg, respectively. Therefore, the crude polysaccharides extracted from the fruiting body of H. erinaceus could improve antitumor activities in mice.

The common split-gilled mushroom, Schizophyllum commune is found throughout the world on woody plants. This study was initiated to evaluate conditions for favorable vegetative growth and to determine molecular phylogenetic relationship in twelve different strains of S. commune. A suitable temperature for mycelial growth was obtained at 30℃. This mushroom grew well in acidic conditions and pH 5 was the most favorable. Hamada, glucose peptone, Hennerberg, potato dextrose agar and yeast malt extract were favorable media for growing mycelia, while Lilly and glucose tryptone were unfavorable. Dextrin was the best and lactose was the less effective carbon source. The most suitable nitrogen sources were calcium nitrate, glycine, and potassium nitrate, whereas ammonium phosphate and histidine were the least effective for the mycelial growth of S. commune. The genetic diversity of each strain was investigated in order to identify them. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA were amplified using PCR. The size of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of rDNA from the different strains varied from 129 to 143 bp and 241 to 243 bp, respectively. The sequence of ITS1 was more variable than that of ITS2, while the 5.8S sequences were identical. A phylogenetic tree of the ITS region sequences indicated that the selected strains were classified into three clusters. The reciprocal homologies of the ITS region sequences ranged from 99 to 100%. The strains were also analyzed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with 20 arbitrary primers. Twelve primers efficiently amplified the genomic DNA. The number of amplified bands varied depending on the primers used or the strains tested. The average number of polymorphic bands observed per primer was 4.5. The size of polymorphic fragments was obtained in the range of 0.2 to 2.3 kb. These results indicate that the RAPD technique is well suited for detecting the genetic diversity in the S. commune strains tested.

Tremella aurantialba, one of edible and medicinal mushrooms belonging to Tremellaceae of Basidiomycota, has been known to have outstanding curing effects on coughing, tracheitis and hypertension of humans and antitumor activity on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice. Neutral saline soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr. NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr. MeOH, respectively) were extracted from fruiting body of the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests showed that all crude polysaccharides extracted from the fruiting body were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as RAW 309 CR.1 and Sarcoma 180 at the concentration of . Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides exhibited life prolongation effect of in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Fr. MeOH improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by 1.16 folds at the concentration of . In case of Fr. HW, the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes were increased by 1.42 and 2.87 folds, respectively.

Lentinus giganteus, one of edible and medicinal mushroom belongs to Pleurotaceae of Agaricales, has been known to contain some inhibitive substances on Sarcoma 180 and curative effect on high blood pressure. Neutral saline soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr. NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr. MeOH, respectively) were extracted from fruiting body of the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests, crude polysaccharides were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as Sarcoma 180 and HepG2 at the concentration of , but crude polysaccharides from Fr. NaCl was toxic to NIH3T3 at the concentration of . Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides showed life prolongation effect of in mice previously inoculated with Sarcoma 180, respectively. Fr. NaCl exhibited the immuno-potentiating activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by folds compared with control at the concentration of , respectively. The numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes were increased by 7.7 and 1.6 folds by injecting Fr. NaCl and Fr. MeOH into the mice at the concentration of 50 mg/ml body weight, respectively.

Vegetative growth of four different strains of Hericium erinaceus was observed. The temperature suitable for optimal mycelial growth was determined to be 25℃, with growth observed in the extend temperature range of 20~30℃. The different strains of this mushroom showed distinct pH requirements for their optimum vegetative growth, with the most favorable growth observed at pH 6. Considering vegetative mycelial growth, PDA, YM, Hennerberg, Hamada, and Glucose peptone were the most favorable media, and Czapek Dox, Hoppkins, Glucose tryptone, and Lilly were the most unfavorable media for these mushroom strains. With the exception of lactose, most of the carbon sources assayed demonstrated favorable vegetative growth of H. erinaceus. For mycelial growth, the most suitable nitrogen source was alanine and the most unsuitable was histidine. Oak sawdust medium supplemented with 10~20% rice bran was the best for mycelial growth of the mushroom.

Armillaria tabescens, one of edible and medicinal mushrooms belonging to Agaricales of Basidiomycota, has been known to have outstanding curative effects on chronic hepatitis and cholecystitis and inhibitory effects on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice. Neutral saline soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr, NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr, MeOH, respectively) were extracted from fruiting body of the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests showed that crude polysaccharides were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as NIH3T3 and Sarcoma 180 at the concentration of . Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides exhibited life prolongation effect of in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180, respectively. Fr. NaCl improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by folds, respectively. In case of Fr, NaCl, the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes were increased by 9 and 1.9 folds, respectively.

Oudemansiella radicata, edible and medicinal mushroom belonging to Agaricales of Basidiomycota, has been known to exhibit outstanding curative effects on the fungal infection and hypertension caused by high blood pressure. Neutral saline soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr, NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr. MeOH, respectively) were extracted from fruiting body of the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity test showed that Fr. NaCl was not cytotoxic against NIH3T3 and Sarcoma 180 at the concentration of . Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. NaCl exhibited antitumor activity with life prolongation effect of in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Fr. NaCl improved the immunopotentiating activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by folds compared with controlled and LPS groups, respectively. Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. MeOH increased the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes by 3.5 and 2.5 folds, respectively. Therefore, the antitumor effect exhibited on mouse Sarcoma 180 cells was likely due to immune-modulating activity of crude polysaccharides extracted from fruiting body of O. radicata.

In nature, the fruiting body of Oudemansiella mucida, one of the edible and medicinal mushrooms belonging to Trichlomataceae, Agaricales, develops on the rotten wood of the broadleaf trees from summer to early autumn (Lee, 1988). O. mucida is collected occasionally from mountains and national parks in Korea (Park and Lee, 1999). Fruiting bodies of O. mucida have been known to possess medically important antifungal substances such as mucidin (strobilurin A) and oudemansin. In the USA, derivatives of mucidin are synthesized for controlling various plant fungal diseases. The derivatives of strobilurin known to kresoxim methyl and azoxystrobin were developed and globally sold in agricultural fungicide markets (Deacon, 2006). Mucidin is also isolated from fruiting bodies of Oudemansiella radicata (Anke et al., 1979, 1983, 1990). The oudemansin from O. mucida contained not only an antifungal activity but also an outstanding inhibitory effect on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice (Ying et al., 1987). Although O. mucida has been considered as one of the promising edible and medicinal mushrooms (Ying et al., 1987), there is no published study on the artificial cultivation of the fungus in Korea. As part of preliminary experiment for producing fruiting bodies of O. mucida, the optimal culture conditions of mycelia such as temperature, pH, nutrients and culture media were studied (Jaysinghe et al., 2007). Therefore, the aims of this study are to determine suitable additive contents of rice bran or wheat bran for the mycelial growth and developing fruiting of O. mucida in the sawdust substrate.

Functional Analyses of Three Gα and One Gβ Subunits in Gibberella zeaeComparison between Wild Strains of Pitoporus betulinus Collected from a Single TreeEcological Study of Sparassis crispa in Gwan...

Armillaria mellea, one of edible and medicinal mushroom belonging to Tricholomataceae of Basid-iomycota, has been known to have outstanding inhibitive effects on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice. Neutral salt soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr. NaCl, Fr, HW and Fr. MeOH, respectively) were extracted from the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests, crude polysaccharide were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as NIH3T3 and Sarcoma 180 at the concentration of . Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides exhibited life prolongation effect of in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180, respectively. Fr, NaCl improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by folds, respectively. In case of Fr. NaCl, the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes were increased by 10 and 2 folds, respectively.

Tremella fuciformis, one of edible and medicinal mushroom belonging to Tremellaceae of Basidiomycota, has been known to have a curative effect on sarcoma 180 of mice and lowering high blood pressure of human beings. Neutral salt soluble [0.9% NaCl (Fr. NaCl)], hot water soluble (Fr. HW) and methanol soluble (Fr. MeOH) substances were extracted from Tremella fuciformis. In vitro cytotoxicity tests, Fr. HW and Fr. NaCl were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as NIH3T3, Sarcoma 180, and HT-29 at the concentration of , while Fr. MeOH was cytotoxic to NIH3T3 and Sarcoma 180. Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. NaCl showed antitumor effect with life prolongation of 53% in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Fr. NaCl improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by folds, respectively. Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. NaCl increased the numbers of peritoneal exudated cells and circulating leukocytes by 7.4 folds and 1.6 folds, respectively, than in the control group. The antitumor effect of T. fuciformis against Sarcoma 180 of mice was likely due to immunopotentiation activity.

Notes on Three Species of the Genus Euphoriomyces (Laboulbeniales) from KoreaTaxonomic Studies on Myelochroa from KoreaMolecular Analysis of Korean Anzia opuntiella (Lichenized Ascomycota) Based on...

To screen additives and their mixed ratio suitable for the mycelial growth and fruiting body formation of Oudemansiella radicata in the oak sawdust, additives such as rice bran, fermented soybean powder and wheat bran were used. Generally, the mycelial growth of O. radicata has been stable on oak sawdust mixed with rice bran of 5~20%. In case that O. radicata was cultured for about 30 days at 22 ± 1℃ under the illumination (350 lux) of 12 hours and moisture condition of 90 ± 5%, the primordia have been formed gradually from red-brown crusts covering the surface of oak sawdust media. Based on the experimental results from 9 strains of O. radicata, fruiting bodies were produced widely on oak sawdust medium mixed with rice bran of 5 to 30%. Even though fruiting bodies of O. radicata have been produced well on oak sawdust media mixed with rice bran, fruiting bodies of O. radicata were produced intensively on oak sawdust media mixed with rice bran of 10%. Therefore, this result will provide a basic information for commercial production of fruiting body of wild O. radicata. This result is the first report associated with an artificial fruiting body formation of O. radicata in Korea.

Isolation of Inonotus obliquus from Betula costata in KoreaTaxonomic Study on Some Unrecorded Taxa of Korean AphyllophoralesSurveys of Host Plants of Pestalotiopsis spp. in KoreaBacillus subtilis B...

Neutral salt-soluble, hot water-soluble and methanol-soluble materials (hereinafter referred to Fr. NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr. MeOH, respectively) were extracted from sclerotium of Grifola umbellata. The Fr. NaCl and Fr. HW did not show any direct cytotoxicity against NIH3T3, Sarcoma 180 and MCF-7, but Fr. MeOH showed cytotoxicity against these cell lines at the concentration of . Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. NaCl showed antitumor effect with life prolongation of 66.7% and decrease the number of Sarcoma 180 cells of 54.2% in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Fr. NaCl improved the immunopotentiation activity through alternative complement pathway and the alkaline phosphatase activity by and 6 folds, respectively. The number of peritoneal exudate cells and the circulating leucocytes were increased by 1.7 and 3.6 folds in the Fr. NaCl treating group compared with the control group, respectively. The weight of immunoorgans such as liver, spleen and thymus were also gradually increased. The hematological analysis of the Fr. NaCl group was similar with that of the control group. The total polysaccharide and protein contents of Fr. NaCl were 98.25% and 1.44%, respectively. These results indicate that the antitumor activity of Fr. NaCl was exerted through immunopotentiation, but not through cytotoxicity against the tumor cells.

Neutral salt soluble [0.9% NaCl (Fr. NaCl)], hot water soluble (Fr. HW) and methanol soluble (Fr. MeOH) materials were extracted from Paecilomyces sinclairii. In vitro cytotoxicity tests. Fr. HW was not cytotoxic against MH3T3, Sarcoma 180 and HepG2 cancer cell lines at the concentration of , while HT-29 cell line was cytotoxic at the concentration of . Fr. NaCl and Fr. MeOH were slightly cytotoxic to the cell lines. Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. NaCl and Fr. MeOH exhibited antitumor activity with life prolongation effect of 32.3% in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Fr. NaCl improved proliferation of spleen cells and the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing spleen cell numbers and the alkaline phosphatase activity by folds, respectively. Fr. NaCl generated of nitric oxide (NO) when cultured with RAW 264.7, a mouse macrophage cell line, at the concentration of , while iipopolysaccharide, a positive control, produced . The Fr. NaCl showed the hightest antitumor effect and activation of B lymphocytes and macrophage. From these results, antitumor effect of P. sinclaitii was likely due to immunopotentiation activity.

Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) Karst (Polyporaceae), belonging to basidiomycota, is one of the most famous medicinal mushrooms. This study was carried out to investigate favorable mycelial growth conditions, such as pH, temperature, growth media, carbon sources and nitrogen sources of Korean strains in G. lucidum. The most suitable temperature for the mycelial growth was obtained at 30℃. In general, optimal temperature range for the mycelial growth was found at 25~30℃. This Mushroom has a broad pH range (5~9) for its mycelial growth and mostly favorable growth was found at pH 5. Generally, Hamada, Glucose peptone, YM, Mushroom complete and Lilly media were the most suitable for the mycelial growth of G. lucidum. Among 10 different carbon sources, dextrin, galactose and fructose were best but the rest of other carbon sources also facilitated the growth of mycelia. The most suitable nitrogen sources were ammonium acetate, glycine, arginine and calcium nitrate, but to a certain extent, all of the supplemented nitrogen sources also stimulated the mycelial growth.

Cystoderma amianthinum, one of edible fungi belongs to Agaricaceae of Basidiomycota, has a good taste and flavor. This study was carried out to obtain the basic informations for the optimum mycelial growth of C. amianthinum. The optimal conditions for the mycelial growth were 25℃ and pH 5 in potato dextrose agar (PDA). C. amianthinum showed the favorable growth in the PDA and yeast malt extract agar (YMA). The favorable carbon and nitrogen sources promoting mycelial growth were fructose and histidine, respectively. The optimum C/N ratio was about 30 : 1 in case that 1% glucose was supplemented to the basal medium as a carbon source.

Macrolepiota procera, one of edible mushrooms belongs to Agaricaceae of Basidiomycota, has a good taste and good medicinal value. As a preliminary study for the development of artificial cultivation method of edible mushroom, cultural characteristics of M. procera was investigated on various culture media under different environmental conditions. Mycelial growth was compared on culture media composed of various carbon and nitrogen sources, and C/N ratios. The optimal conditions for the mycelial growth were 30℃ and pH 7. M. procera showed the rapid mycelial growth in the PDA media. The optimal carbon and nitrogen sources were maltose and glycine, respectively. The optimum C/N ratio was about 10 : 1 in case that 1% glucose was supplemented to the basal media as carbon source.

Summary form only given. From the general I-V characteristics of EEFLs, the important issues in this study are to obtain the Townsend coefficients of the discharge, the ionization rate /spl alpha/ and the ion induced electron emission rate of the effective /spl gamma/ corresponding to EEFLs. The first coefficient is determined in the analysis of the dark current region. In this study the non-uniform field in cylindrical tube geometry is considered. Second, the range of gamma value was estimated. The EEFL discharge is the phenomena under the non-uniform electric field. In this experiment the dark current region shows the parameters A= 0.4/(cm torr) and B=71 volt/(cm torr) in the first Townsend coefficients. Townsend breakdown region having the second coefficient of /spl gamma/=0.57 shows the increasing of the current with the constant voltage about 1 kV. Finally, the normal glow region represents the behavior of the positive resistance in I-V.

An hypoxic microenvironment is an important modulator of gene expression in many pathophysiological conditions. In this study, we show a coordinate activation of heat shock transcription factor (HSF) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) in RIF tumor cells by hypoxia. Since heat shock protein (hsp) and angiogenic factor genes that are regulated by HSF and HIF-1 are thought to contribute to the malignant progression of hypoxic tumor cells, it was of our major interest to identify the components that are responsible for the activation of both HSF and HIF-1. Our finding that a bioflavonoid quercetin (QCT), a well known inhibitor of hsp gene expression, significantly inhibited the transcriptional activation of HSF and HIF-1 strongly suggests that QCT-sensitive molecule(s) is involved in the transcriptional activation of HSF and HIF-1 by hypoxia. Our results revealed that PCKalpha, delta and epsilon isoforms are expressed in RIF cells, but only PKCdelta was specifically translocated to the membrane by hypoxia. Our results also revealed that the translocation of PKCdelta was completely abrogated by QCT. Moreover, inhibiting the PKCdelta activation, either pharmacologically with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or with bisindolymaleimide II or genetically by transient transfection of a dominant negative PKCdelta, significantly inhibited the transcriptional activation of HSF and HIF-1 by hypoxia. These results strongly substantiate a view that the PKCdelta isozyme is the QCT-sensitive molecule that plays an important role in transmitting hypoxia signals to both HSF and HIF-1. Here we show that the membrane translocation of PKCdelta is dependent on the activation of phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Treatment with PI3K inhibitor, wortmannin or LY294002, abrogated not only PKCdelta translocation but the subsequent transcriptional activation of HSF and HIF-1 by hypoxia. Together, our study shows that the PKCdelta isozyme acts as a shared component in transmitting hypoxia-induced signals to both HSF and HIF-1, and that the upstream regulator of PKCdelta is PI3K.

We evaluated the antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibitory effects of Pleurotus ostreatus fruiting bodies extracted with acetone, methanol, and hot water. The antioxidant activities were tested against β-carotene-linoleic acid, reducing power, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity, and ferrous chelating ability. Furthermore, phenolic acid and flavonoid contents were also analyzed. The methanol extract showed the strongest β-carotene-linoleic acid inhibition as compared to the other exracts. The acetone extract (8 mg/mL) showed a significantly high reducing power of 1.54 than the other extracts. The acetone extract was more effective than other extracts for scavenging on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals. The strongest chelating effect (85.66%) was obtained from the acetone extract at 1.0 mg/mL. The antioxidant activities of the extracts from the P. ostreatus fruiting bodies increased with increasing concentration. A high performance liquid chromatography analysis detected seven phenolic compounds, including gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, naringenin, hesperetin, formononetin, and biochanin-A in an acetonitrile and 0.1 N hydrochloric acid (5 : 1) solvent extract. The total phenolic compound concentration was 188 µg/g. Tyrosinase inhibition of the acetone, methanol, and hot water P. ostreatus extracts increased with increasing concentration. The results revealed that the methanol extract had good tyrosinase inhibitory ability, whereas the acetone and hot water extracts showed moderate activity at the concentrations tested. The results suggested that P. ostreatus may have potential as a natural antioxidant.

This study evaluated the optimal vegetative growth conditions and molecular phylogenetic relationships of eleven strains of Agrocybe cylindracea collected from different ecological regions of Korea, China and Taiwan. The optimal temperature and pH for mycelial growth were observed at 25℃ and 6. Potato dextrose agar and Hennerberg were the favorable media for vegetative growth, whereas glucose tryptone was unfavorable. Dextrin, maltose, and fructose were the most effective carbon sources. The most suitable nitrogen sources were arginine and glycine, whereas methionine, alanine, histidine, and urea were least effective for the mycelial propagation of A. cylindracea. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA were amplified using PCR. The sequence of ITS2 was more variable than that of ITS1, while the 5.8S sequences were identical. The reciprocal homologies of the ITS sequences ranged from 98 to 100%. The strains were also analyzed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) using 20 arbitrary primers. Fifteen primers efficiently amplified the genomic DNA. The average number of polymorphic bands observed per primer was 3.8. The numbers of amplified bands varied based on the primers and strains, with polymorphic fragments ranging from 0.1 to 2.9 kb. The results of RAPD analysis were similar to the ITS region sequences. The results revealed that RAPD and ITS techniques were well suited for detecting the genetic diversity of all A. cylindracea strains tested.

Mushrooms are increasingly being recognized as an important food for their significant role in human health, nutrition and disease. Mushrooms provide a wide variety of physiologically active components: Pleurotus sajorcaju inhibits hypertensive effects through its active ingredients, which affect the renin-angiotensin system (Chang, 1996), Tricholoma magnivelare produces vasorelaxation because of its lectin content (Wang et al., 1996), P. ostreatus possesses antitumor activity (Yoshioka et al., 1985) and hypoglycaemic effects on experimentally induced diabetic rat (Chorvathova et al., 1993), Lentinus edodes and Grifola frondosa have antihypertensive effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats (Kabir et al., 1987) and Agaricus bisporus decreases low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) in serum by increasing the expression of LDL receptor at mRNA level and LDL receptor activity (Fukushima et al., 2000). Experimental evidence suggests that one of the most important food components that help to reduce serum cholesterol is its polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content (Hashimoto et al., 1999, 2001; Gamoh et al., 1999, 2001; Hossain et al., 1999). Arachidonic acid exacerbates platelet functions (Hossain et al., 1999a), whereas linolenic acid (LNA) acts as a precursor of the physiologically important PUFA, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5, ω-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6, ω3) (Schmidt et al., 2001). There is considerable data supporting the hypothesis that the health benefit obtained through the lowering of blood cholesterol may be derived from the effects of EPA and DHA (Hashimoto et al., 1998). In addition to their roles in the development and function of the central nervous system, these two fatty acids play an important role in the physiological functions of the cardiovascular system (Hashimoto et. al., 1999a). Thus, one of the objectives of the present study was to generate awareness of the beneficial effects of edible mushrooms, particularly of oyster mushrooms, on hypercholesterolaemia, which poses serious health problems in both developed and developing countries.

Schizophyllum commune is an edible and medicinal mushroom widely distributed in the world. The optimal growth conditions for the mycelia of 10 strains of the fungus were investigated. The temperature suitable for the mycelial growth and density was obtained at 30~35℃. Among the tested conditions, the minimum mycelial growth was found at 15℃. In case of pH, the most favorable growth was found at pH 5. The results indicated that this mushroom well adapted to high temperature and low pH for its mycelial growth. Considering growth phenotype of mycelia, Hamada, Hennerberg, PDA and YM were the most suitable and Lilly, Glucose triptone, Glucose peptone and Hoppkins were the most unfavorable among tested media for the mycelial growth of S. commune. Out of tested carbon sources, dextrin and fructose were the most suitable and lactose, mannose and sorbitol were the unsuitable for the fungus. Compact mycelial density was obtained from most of the carbon sources. Among used nitrogen sources, calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate and alanine were the most appropriate and the most incompatible were ammonium phosphate, histidine, urea and arginine for mycelial growth of S. commune on the culture media. Calcium nitrate, histidine and potassium nitrate showed moderately thin or thin, and rest of nitrogen sources showed compact or moderately compact mycelial density.

Agrocybe cylindracea, an edible mushroom belonging to Bolbitiaceae, Agaricales, is widely used as invaluable medicinal material in the oriental countries. This study was initiated to find the genes expressed during the fruiting body formation of A. cylindracea. The cDNAs expressed differentially during fruiting body morphogenesis of A. cylindracea were isolated through subtractive hybridization between vegetative mycelia and fruiting bodies. The cDNAs expressed in the fruiting body morphogenesis of A. cylindracea were cloned and twenty genes were identified. Eleven were homologous to genes of known functions, three were homologous to genes in other organism without any function known. Six were completely novel genes specific to A. cylindracea so far examined. Some genes with known functions were a pleurotolysin, a self-assembling poreforming cytolysins; Aa-Pri1 and Pir2p, specifically induced genes during fruiting initiation of other mushroom, Agrocybe aegerita; an amino acid permease; a cytochrome P450; a MADS-box gene; a peptidylprolyl isomerase; and a serine proteinase. For other clones, no clear function was annotated so far. We believe the first report of the differentially expressed genes in fruiting process of A. cylindracea will be great helps for further research.

To produce an artificial fruiting body of Armillaria mellea on the oak sawdust medium, seven strains of A. mellea were used. The top surface of oak sawdust medium covered with ground raw carrot was inoculated with each of 7 strains and cultured for 30 days at 25℃ in the dark condition until the mycelia of A. mellea completely colonized the medium from top to bottom. Then, the mycelia which were fully covered on the top surface of the medium were scratched slightly with a spatula and filled with tap water for 3 hours. To induce the primordial formation, the 7 strains of A. mellea were transferred to the growth chamber under the illumination (350 lux) of 12 hours and relative humidity of 85 ± 5% in a day and then cultured at 16 ± 1℃. Only A. mellea IUM 949 could form primordia on the sawdust medium, but the other strains did not make primordia at the same condition. The primordia of A. mellea IUM 949 were formed 10 days after complete colonization of the medium and the fruiting bodies were produced 7 days after a primordial formation. The experimental results suggested that IUM 949 strain might be a good candidate for mass production of fruiting bodies of A. mellea.

Oudemansiella radicata, one of edible mushrooms belonging to Tricholomataceae of Basidiomycota, has been known to exhibit outstanding therapeutic effects on the hypertension caused by high blood pressure and inhibitory effects on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice. As one of preliminary experiments for producing fruiting-body of O. radicata, this study was carried out to obtain the basic information for culture conditions of mycelial growth of the fungus. The optimal temperature and pH for the mycelial growth were 25℃ and pH 6, respectively. The medium for favorable mycelial growth of O. radicata was shown in the Lilly medium, whereas compact mycelial density was found in Hamada medium. The carbon and nitrogen sources promoting for mycelial growth of O. radicata were xylose and alanine, respectively. The optimum C/N ratio was about 20 : 1 in case that 3% glucose was supplimented to the basal medium as a carbon source.

oC and in the range of pH 6~9, respectively. P. fumosoroseus showed the favorable growth on Hamada medium. The carbon and nitrogen source favorable for mycelial growth were dextrin and histidine, respectively. Optimum C/N ratio suitable for optimal growth of P. fumosoroseus was observed on the culture media adjusted to the ratio of 40:1. The mycelial growth of P. fumosoroseus was optimal on corn meal agar supplemented with 30% of silkworm pupae. The most favorable fruiting body formation of P. fumosoroseus was obtained in the medium containing unpolished rice supplemented with 20% (w/w) silk worm pupae at 25 o C under 100 lux.