The Role of β-1.3/1.6-D-Glucan From Ganoderma lucidum Mycelium Extract in Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an idiopathic inflammatory disease that affects the colon. Current pharmacological modalities to treat UC have various side effects; therefore, there is a demand to develop a new alternative medicine that can reduce side effects and increase drug efficacy. One candidate for alternative therapy is Polysaccharide Peptide which is extracted from Ganoderma lucidum mycelium. This Polysaccaharide has an active compound of Β-1,3/1,6-D-Glucan which has strong immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. Various studies have reported that Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides can reduce inflammatory markers such as TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-17A, which is produced by colonic mucosal inflammation. In addition, β-1,3/1,6-D-Glucan has shown improvements in inflammatory parameters and intestinal immunological barrier function animal studies with artificial colitis and requires further research in humans before clinical applications.

An Antioxidant Polysaccharide from Ganoderma lucidum Induces Apoptotic Activity in Breast Cancer Cell Line

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the apoptotic activity of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide (GLP) in a human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 in vitro. According to DPPH assay, GLP showed a good antioxidant (IC 50 value is 202.4 µg/mL). Based on MTT assay, the results showed that GLP inhibits MCF-7 cells proliferation in a dose- and time- dependent manner (p<0.001). IC 50 values of the cytotoxicity of GLP and doxorubin were 110.907 µg/mL and 58.206 µg/mL respectively. The results from the flow cytometry indicated that GLP could induce apoptotic activity through inducing the up-regulation of the Bax and Caspase-9 and the down-regulation of the BcL-2 in MCF-7 cells. At 2×IC 50 , GLP increased the early-apoptotic and dead cells of MCF-7 from 18.23% to 34.76% and 8.45% to16.34% respectively. In conclusion, the GLP shows anticancer activity against MCF-7 through preventing the proliferation and inducing the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. Our data provide the potential molecular targets in cancer prevention and reveal the key barriers in the current anticancer drugs development.

A Polysaccharide of Ganoderma lucidum Enhances Antifungal Activity of Chemical Fungicides against Soil-Borne Diseases of Wheat and Maize by Induced Resistance

Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide (GLP), which is the primary active ingredient in G. lucidum, has been widely used in functional food and clinical medicine. However, it is rarely reported in the prevention and control of plant diseases. In this study, we found that the GLP can increase the germination rates and seedling heights of maize and wheat. We also found that the combination of GLP and chemical fungicides as a seed coating chemical compound has a control effect of more than 75% on the primary soil-borne diseases of the wheat and maize growing areas in both greenhouse and field trials. Furthermore, the combination of GLP and chemical fungicides prolongs the lasting period and reduces the application dosage of the chemical fungicides by half. In addition, GLP seed dressing could increase the resistance-related gene expression of the TPS and WRKY53 in maize and WMS533, NbPR1a, and RS33 in wheat. The combination of GLP and low-dose chemical fungicides proved to be an effective way to effectively prevent wheat sharp eyespot, root rot, and maize stalk rot in the wheat and maize continuous cropping areas in the North China Plain and to reduce pesticide use and increase crop yield.

Polysaccharide from Ganoderma lucidum Alleviates Congnitive Impairment in a Mice Model of Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion by Regulating CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells

Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) is a kind of edible and medicinal mushroom. G. lucidum polysaccharide-1 (GLP-1) is one of the polysaccharide purificated from crude GLP. Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) as...