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Title: Evaluation of sulfated Lentinus edodes alpha-(1--)3)-D-glucan as a potential antitumor agent. Author: Zhang, P : Cheung, P C Citation: Biosci-Biotechnol-Biochem. 2002 May; 66(5): 1052-6 Abstract: Alpha-glucan L-FV-II and beta-glucan L-FV-I were shown to co-exist in the extract of fruiting bodies of Lentinus edodes with aq. 5% NaOH/0.05% NaBH4 in previous work. Water-insoluble alpha-(1--)3)-D-glucan (L-FV-II) was treated with sulfur trioxide-pyridine complex at 25 degrees C to synthesize the water-soluble sulfated derivative SL-FV-II with a degree of substitution (DS) 1.1 in non-selective sulfation. The weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of sulfated glucan SL-FV-II is 57% of that of the original alpha-glucan L-FV-II. The alpha-glucan administered by gavaging at a dose of 50 mg/kg of body weight to BALB/C mice having implanted solid Sarcoma 180 was effective at an inhibition rate of 42%. In vitro experiments using human and murine tumor cell lines showed that SL-FV-II had antiproliferation activity at the concentration of 20 microg/mL towards four tumor cell lines. The sulfated alpha-(1--)3)-D-glucan had potent antiproliferation action (52%) on human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells.

Title: Hypoglycemic effect of a Lentinus edodes exo-polymer produced from a submerged mycelial culture. Author: Yang, B K : Kim, D H : Jeong, S C : Das, S : Choi, Y S : Shin, J S : Lee, S C : Song, C H Citation: Biosci-Biotechnol-Biochem. 2002 May; 66(5): 937-42 Abstract: The hypoglycemic effect of an exo-polymer produced from a submerged mycelial culture of Lentinus edodes was investigated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The administration of the exo-polymer (200 mg/kg BW) reduced the plasma glucose level by as much as 21.5%, and increased plasma insulin by 22.1% as compared to the control group. It also lowered the plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels by 25.1 and 44.5%, respectively. Gel chromatography of the exo-polymer revealed a single peak which is likely to have been a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 52 kDa and was found to contain 83.5% carbohydrate and 16.5% protein. The Sugar and amino acid compositions of the exo-polymer were analyzed in detail.

Title: Effects of management on the yield and high-molecular-weight polysaccharide content of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) mushrooms. Author: Brauer, D : Kimmons, T : Phillips, M Citation: J-Agric-Food-Chem. 2002 Sep 11; 50(19): 5333-7 Abstract: Shiitake (Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler) mushroom production in the United States has increased greatly over the last twenty years. Additional expansion of the shiitake mushroom market should be possible if the product can be marketed as a functional food, i.e., a food that has health-promoting effects beyond its nutritional value. High-molecular-weight polysaccharides (HMWP) including lentinan in shiitake may promote human health. This study was conducted to determine if management protocols influence the HMWP of shiitake mushrooms. Results indicate that measuring the total carbohydrate content of water-extractable, ethanol-insoluble polysaccharides was a simple way to estimate HMWP. Results also indicate that log-grown shiitake contained more HMWP than did substrate-grown shiitake. Among log-grown shiitake, both mushroom strain and tree species influenced HMWP content. The results suggest that there is considerable variation among shiitake mushrooms in HMWP content and that production protocols influenced the HMWP content of mushrooms.

Title: Basic composition and amino acid contents of mushrooms cultivated in Finland. Author: Mattila, P : Salo Vaananen, P : Konko, K : Aro, H : Jalava, T Citation: J-Agric-Food-Chem. 2002 Oct 23; 50(22): 6419-22 Abstract: The basic composition (moisture, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, crude fat, ash, nitrogen, and protein) and amino acid contents were determined in the cultivated mushrooms Agaricus bisporus/white, Agaricus bisporus/brown, Lentinula edodes, and Pleurotus ostreatus. In addition, nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors were calculated for each species by dividing the sums of amino acid residues with total (Kjeldahl) nitrogen contents. The dry matter contents of mushrooms varied from 7.7% to 8.4%. The dry matter of mushrooms contained large amounts of carbohydrates, from 4.5 (A. bisporus/white) to 5.8 g/100 g fresh weight (L. edodes). L. edodes proved to be an especially good source of dietary fiber (3.3 g/100 g fresh weight); the other mushrooms contained 1.5-2.4 g/100 g fresh weight. Crude fat, ash, and protein (based on amino acid analysis) contents of the mushrooms varied 0.31-0.35, 0.49-0.78, and 1.8-2.09 g/100 g fresh weight, respectively. Mushrooms proved to be good sources of almost all essential amino acids when compared with common vegetables. The mean nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor analyzed in the present study was 4.7 +/- 0.21. When using this factor, a very good estimation of protein contents could be obtained for the main species of mushrooms cultivated in Finland.

Title: Inhibition of human colon carcinoma development by lentinan from shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes). Author: Ng, M L : Yap, A T Citation: J-Altern-Complement-Med. 2002 Oct; 8(5): 581-9 Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Lentinan was extracted from shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) via a new cost-effective procedure that resulted in high purity (88%) and yield. Unlike previous reports whereby the lentinan was given parenterally, in this study the emphasis was on the oral administration of lentinan. The goal is to document whether the efficacy of the antitumor property is still expressed through this route of administration. DESIGN: Initial study on the action of lentinan was conducted using murine lymphoma (K36) cells in a AKR mouse model. Further investigation on the effectiveness of the extracted lentinan was then performed using human colon-carcinoma cell lines in mice. Six established human colon-carcinoma cell lines segregated into three groups of different degrees of differentiation were used in this study. One group was not fed (control) and the second group was prefed with lentinan for 7 days prior to inoculations with the cancer cells. The size of the tumors that developed was rated after 1 month. RESULTS: Significant regression in tumor formation was observed in prefed mice compared to control (unfed) mice when K36 or human colon-carcinoma cells were used. Significant reductions in the size of the tumors were observed in mice prefed with lentinan. Follow-up investigation proceeded with the use of nude mice (athymic). Lymphocytes extracted from AKR mice prefed with lentinan for 7 days were inoculated into the nude mice. This was then followed by inoculation of the human colon-carcinoma cell lines into these mice. Much smaller tumors were formed in nude mice inoculated with lymphocytes, in contrast to the larger tumor formed in nude mice without lymphocytes inoculation. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the antitumor property of lentinan was maintained with oral administration. In addition, "primed" lymphocytes, when given passively to immunodeficient mice, were able to retard the development of tumors in these mice.

Title: Contents of vitamins, mineral elements, and some phenolic compounds in cultivated mushrooms. Author: Mattila, P. : Konko, K. : Eurola, M. : Pihlava, J.M>. : Astola, J. : Vahteristo, L. : Hietaniemi, V. : Kumpulainen, J. : Valtonen, M. : Piironen, V. Citation: J-agric-food-chem. Washington, D.C. : American Chemical Society. May 2001. v. 49 (5) p. 2343-2348. Abstract: The aim of the study was to determine the contents of mineral elements (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, Cu, Fe, Mn, Cd, Pb, and Se), vitamins (B1, B2, B12, C, D, folates, and niacin), and certain phenolic compounds (flavonoids, lignans, and phenolic acids) in the cultivated mushrooms Agaricus bisporus/white, Agaricus bisporus/brown, Lentinus edodes, and Pleurotus ostreatus. Selenium, toxic heavy metals (Cd, Pb), and other mineral elements were analyzed by ETAAS, ICP-MS, and ICP methods, respectively; vitamins were detected by microbiological methods (folates, niacin, and vitamin B12) or HPLC methods (other vitamins), and phenolic compounds were analyzed by HPLC (flavonoids) or GC-MS methods (lignans and phenolic acids). Cultivated mushrooms were found to be good sources of vitamin B2, niacin, and folates, with contents varying in the ranges 1.8-5.1, 31-65, and 0.30-0.64 mg/100 g dry weight (dw), respectively. Compared with vegetables, mushrooms proved to be a good source of many mineral elements, e.g., the contents of K, P, Zn, and Cu varied in the ranges 26.7-47.3 g/kg, 8.7-13.9 g/kg, 47-92 mg/kg, and 5.2-35 mg/kg dw, respectively. A. bisporus/brown contained large amounts of Se (3.2 mg/kg dw) and the levels of Cd were quite high in L. edodes (1.2 mg/kg dw). No flavonoids or lignans were found in the mushrooms analyzed. In addition, the phenolic acid contents were very low.SP$ISSN: 0021-8561SP$VOLUME: 49SP$ISSUE: 5SP$PAGE1: 2343

Title: Nutritional and medicinal value of specialty mushrooms. Author: Breene, W.M. Citation: J-Food-Prot. Ames, Iowa : International Association of Milk, Food, and Environmental Sanitarians. Oct 1990. v. 53 (10) p. 883-894. Abstract: Although the button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) accounts for slightly over half of total world mushroom production, specialty mushrooms, e.g., shiitake (Lentinula edodes), straw (Volvariella volvacea), oyster (Pleurotus spp.), and enokitake (Flammulina velutipes), are increasing in popularity. These species contain moderate quantities of good quality protein and are good sources of dietary fiber, vitamin C, B vitamins, and minerals. Lipid levels are low, but unsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratios are high (about 2.0 - 4.5:1). Some species (e.g., shiitake) accumulate cadmium and selenium and other heavy metals, and some may contain toxic substances such as the heat labile cardiotoxic proteins volvatoxin in the straw mushroom and flammutoxin in enokitake. Extensive clinical studies, primarily in Japan, have clearly demonstrated that a number of species have medicinal and therapeutic value, by injection or oral administration, in the prevention/treatment of cancer, viral diseases (influenza, polio), hypercholesterolemia, blood platelet aggregation, and hypertension. Most of the studies have focused on shiitake, enokitake, Pleurotus spp., and on the generally nonculinary Ganoderma spp. Many of the active substances which include polysaccharides (e.g., beta-glucans), nucleic acid derivatives (the hypocholesterolemic eritadenine), lipids, peptides, proteins, and glycoproteins, have been isolated and identified. Some of the mechanisms of activity have been elucidated, e.g., antiviral activity via stimulation of interferon production in the host. Additional medical claims less well documented may nonetheless have some validity and merit further study.