Biodistribution and immunomodulatory activities of a proteoglycan isolated from Ganoderma lucidum

Ganoderma lucidum Polysaccharide/carboxymethyl Chitosan Hydrogels Modulate Macrophage Polarization for Wound Healing

Wound healing remains a global challenge for clinical and experimental research. Hydrogels prepared from natural polysaccharides show great potential in the wound healing process. In this study, novel hydrogels (G-GLP) were prepared using oxidized Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides (OGLPs) and carboxymethyl chitosan via the Schiff base reaction, which did not require the addition of any chemical cross-linking agent. The hydrogels showed excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Moreover, the hydrogels showed superior hemostatic performance in mouse liver trauma and tail amputation models. Importantly, G-GLP improved inflammation by promoting the polarization of the macrophage M2 subtype, inhibiting the M1 subtype and reducing intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species. In vivo experiments demonstrated that G-GLP accelerated healing in a total defect wound model by reducing inflammation and promoting blood vessel repair and collagen deposition. These results demonstrate that G-GLP has potential as an effective wound repair dressing.

Synergistic anti-inflammatory effects of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide and ganoderic acid A on LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells by inhibition of TLR4/NF-κB activation

Ganoderma lucidum, a food-grade medicinal mushroom, is rich in biologically active components that offer significant health benefits. This study investigated the synergistic anti-inflammatory effects of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide (GLP-1) and ganoderic acid A (GAA) in RAW264.7 cells. GLP-1 was a low molecular weight β-D-glucan with an alternating backbone structure formed by →3)-β-D-Glcp-(1 → and →4)-β-D-Glcp-(1 → linkages. Notably, significant synergistic effects were observed at a mass concentration ratio of GAA: GLP-1 of 1:4. The combination of GLP-1 and GAA more effectively inhibited the production of NO, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to each component alone. Additionally, the combination increased anti-inflammatory cytokine levels (IL-10) and restored mitochondrial membrane potential. RT-qPCR and Western blot results suggested that GLP-1 and GAA may co-target the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathways to achieve their synergistic anti-inflammatory effects. These findings provide valuable insights for future synergistic application of active ingredients from natural products.

Antrodia cinnamomea Formula Suppresses Prostate Cancer Progression via Immune Modulation and PD-1/PD-L1 Pathway Inhibition

Prostate cancer remains a significant global health challenge, necessitating the development of novel therapeutic approaches. This study investigated the therapeutic potential of the Antrodia cinnamomea formula (XIANZHIFANG formula, XZF), comprising Antrodia cinnamomea, Sanghuangporus sanghuang, Ganoderma lucidum, Ganoderma sinense, and Inonotus obliquus, in prostate cancer treatment. HPLC analysis confirmed the presence of key triterpenoids, including Antcin A, B, C, K, and Zhankuic acid B, C, and 4,7-dimethoxy-5-methyl-1,3-benzodioxole. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that XZF (50-200 μg/mL) exhibited selective activity, maintaining viability in non-cancerous 293T-cells while enhancing the viability of activated CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells in a dose-dependent manner. XZF significantly reduced PD-1 expression in CD8+ T-cells but not in CD4+ T-cells and inhibited the PD-L1/PD-1 interaction, achieving 93% inhibition at 200 μg/mL. Furthermore, when combined with atezolizumab (1 μg/mL), XZF demonstrated complete blockade of PD-L1/PD-1 interaction. In prostate cancer cells, XZF exhibited differential antiproliferative effects. In PC-3 cells, XZF significantly reduced viability across a concentration range of 25-200 μg/mL, whereas DU145 cells showed only partial inhibition at higher concentrations (100-200 μg/mL). LNCaP cells exhibited a dose-dependent reduction in viability, mirroring the response pattern of PC-3 cells. Conditioned medium from XZF-treated macrophages, particularly human THP-1 cells, significantly suppressed the viability and migration of prostate cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Notably, the conditioned medium from XZF-treated THP-1 cells exhibited a stronger inhibitory effect on prostate cancer cell viability and migration compared to murine RAW 264.7 macrophages. These findings indicate that XZF exerts its therapeutic potential through multiple mechanisms, including direct antiproliferative effects on cancer cells, enhancement of T-cell responses, modulation of immune checkpoint pathways, and macrophage-mediated suppression of prostate cancer cell survival and migration. The pronounced effects observed in human macrophage models suggest a promising avenue for further investigation in clinical settings, particularly in combination with existing immunotherapies.

Insights into oral lentinan immunomodulation: Dectin-1-mediated lymphatic transport from Peyer's patch M cells to mononuclear phagocytes

Lentinan (LNT), a natural polysaccharide, has been reported to exhibit immunomodulatory effects in the intestine after oral administration. Herein, we aimed to investigate the lymphatic transport of LNT in Peyer's patches (PPs) by traceable fluorescent labeling and to explore whether/how LNT contacts related immune cells. Near-infrared imaging confirmed the absorption of LNT in the small intestinal segment and its accumulation within PPs after oral administration. Subsequently, tissue imaging confirmed that M cells are the main cells responsible for transporting LNT to PPs, and an M cell model was established to explore the involvement of Dectin-1 in the absorption process. Systematic in vitro and in vivo studies revealed that the Dectin-1 further mediates the uptake of LNT by mononuclear phagocytes in PPs. Moreover, LNT can promote the proliferation and differentiation of mononuclear phagocytes, thereby activating immune responses. In summary, this study elucidates the pharmacokinetic mechanisms by which LNT exerts oral immunomodulatory effects, providing a theoretical basis for the development and application of other polysaccharides.

Mucoadhesive chitosan microcapsules for controlled gastrointestinal delivery and oral bioavailability enhancement of low molecular weight peptides

A bioactive compound, collagen peptide (CP), is widely used for biological activities such as anti-photoaging and antioxidant effects, with increased oral bioavailability because of its low molecular weight and high hydrophilicity. However, controlling release time and increasing retention time in the digestive tract for a more convenient oral administration is still a challenge. We developed CP-loaded chitosan (CS) microcapsules via strong and rapid ionic gelation using a highly negative phytic acid (PA) crosslinker. The platform enhanced the oral bioavailability of CP with controlled gastrointestinal delivery by utilizing the mucoadhesiveness and tight junction-opening properties of CS. CS and CP concentrations varied from 1.5 to 3.5% and 0-30%, respectively, for optimal and stable microcapsule synthesis. The physicochemical properties, in vitro release profile with intestinal permeability, in vivo oral bioavailability, in vivo biodistribution, anti-photoaging effect, and antioxidant effect of optimized CS microcapsules were analyzed to investigate the impact of controlling parameters. The structure of CS microcapsules was tuned by PA diffused gradient ionic cross-linking degree, resulting in a controlled CP release region in the gastrointestinal tract. The optimized microcapsules increased Cmax, AUC, and tmax by 1.5-, 3.4-, and 8.0-fold, respectively. Furthermore, CP in microcapsules showed anti-photoaging effects by downregulating matrix metalloproteinases-1 via antioxidant effects. According to our knowledge, this is the first study to microencapsulate CP for oral bioavailability enhancement. The peptide delivery method employed is simple, economical, and can be applied to customize bioactive compound administration.

Proteoglycan Extracted from Ganoderma lucidum Ameliorated Diabetes-Induced Muscle Atrophy via the AMPK/SIRT1 Pathway In Vivo and In Vitro

Muscle atrophy often occurs in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and leads to an increase in physical disability and insulin resistance. However, there are very few studies that have investigated potential natural products used for this condition. In this study, we demonstrated that FYGL (Fudan-Yueyang-G. lucidum), a proteoglycan extracted from Ganoderma lucidum, ameliorated muscle atrophy in rat and mouse models of diabetes. Histopathological analysis of muscle revealed that oral administration of FYGL significantly prevented reduction of the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers and overexpression of muscle atrophic factors in diabetic rats and mice. Muscle RNA-seq analysis in vivo indicated that FYGL regulated genes related to myogenesis, muscle atrophy, and oxidative phosphorylation. Also, FYGL activated AMPK in vivo. Furthermore, the underlying molecular mechanisms were studied in palmitate-induced C2C12 muscle cells using immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting, which revealed that FYGL inhibited muscle atrophy by stimulating ATP production and activating the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway, thus promoting oxidative metabolism. This result rationalized the in vivo findings. These results suggest FYGL as a promising functional food ingredient for the prevention of T2D-induced muscle atrophy.

Balancing adipocyte production and lipid metabolism to treat obesity-induced diabetes with a novel proteoglycan from Ganoderma lucidum

Obesity is often accompanied by metabolic disorder and insulin resistance, resulting in type 2 diabetes. Based on previous findings, FYGL, a natural hyperbranched proteoglycan extracted from the G. lucidum fruiting body, can decrease blood glucose and reduce body weight in diabetic mice. In this article, the underlying mechanism of FYGL in ameliorating obesity-induced diabetes was further investigated both in vivo and in vitro. FYGL upregulated expression of metabolic genes related to fatty acid biosynthesis, fatty acid β-oxidation and thermogenesis; downregulated the expression of insulin resistance-related genes; and significantly increased the number of beige adipocytes in db/db mice. In addition, FYGL inhibited preadipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells by increasing the expression of FABP-4. FYGL not only promoted fatty acid synthesis but also more significantly promoted triglyceride degradation and metabolism by activating the AMPK signalling pathway, therefore preventing fat accumulation, balancing adipocyte production and lipid metabolism, and regulating metabolic disorders and unhealthy obesity. FYGL could be used as a promising pharmacological agent for the treatment of metabolic disorder-related obesity.

A review of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides: Health benefit, structure-activity relationship, modification, and nanoparticle encapsulation

Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides possess unique functional properties. Various processing technologies have been used to produce and modify G. lucidum polysaccharides to improve their yield and utilization. In this review, the structure and health benefits were summarized, and the factors that may affect the quality of G. lucidum polysaccharides were discussed, including the use of chemical modifications such as sulfation, carboxymethylation, and selenization. Those modifications improve the physicochemical characteristics and utilization of G. lucidum polysaccharides, and make them more stable that could be used as functional biomaterials to encapsulate active substances. Ultimate, G. lucidum polysaccharide-based nanoparticles were designed to deliver various functional ingredients to achieve better health-promoting effects. Overall, this review presents an in-depth summary of current modification strategies and offers new insights into the effective processing techniques to develop G. lucidum polysaccharide-rich functional foods or nutraceuticals.

Spiroganodermaines A-G from Ganoderma species and their activities against insulin resistance and renal fibrosis

Ganoderma mushrooms are a renowned Chinese medicine and functional food used worldwide. Seven undescribed spiro Ganoderma meroterpenoids spiroganodermaines A-G were isolated from Ganoderma species. Their structures were characterized by using spectroscopic, computational and X-ray diffraction methods. Biological studies showed that (+)-spiroganodermaine G significantly activates glucose uptake and IRS1 phosphorylation in insulin resistance C2C12 cells. Furthermore, (-)-spiroganodermaine G inhibits the expressions of fibronectin and α-SMA in TGF-β1 induced NRK-52E cells. These findings demonstrate the potential of Ganoderma meroterpenoids as medicines and dietary supplements.

Tracking the gastrointestinal digestive and metabolic behaviour of Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides by fluorescent labelling

Recently, Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide (DOP), a typical acetylated glucomannan, has been widely applied in functional foods owing to its excellent bioactivity. However, the insufficiency of studies on in vivo process severely limits the further utilization of DOP. The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the gastrointestinal digestive behaviour of DOP after oral administration by labelling it with two fluorescein aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acids, trisodium salt (APTS) and cyanine 7.5 (Cy7.5). Combining the results of NIR imaging and HPGPC, we found that DOP was poorly absorbed directly in the prototype form; instead, DOP moved with the intestinal contents to the distal part of the intestine, where Bacteroides aggregated for a prolonged time and was metabolized to oligosaccharide-like substances. In contrast, the digestive degradation of DOP in pseudo-sterile mice with a targeted clearance of Bacteroides significantly weakened, which provided the basis and direction for the subsequent search for more specific metabolic pathways of DOP in vivo.

Immunoregulatory Activity of Herbal Tea-Derived Carbon Dots

The activation of immune cells by immunoregulatory active substances can improve the body immunity. Carbon dots (CDs) with immunoregulatory activity are rarely reported. In this study, transmission electron microscopy results demonstrate the existence of CDs in herbal tea, while Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results suggest the participation of polyphenol in herbal tea CD (H-CD) formation. The photoluminescence spectrum has shown that H-CDs have fluorescence emission at 565 nm and exhibit an excitation-dependent property. The toxicity and immunostimulatory activity of H-CDs on mouse macrophage RAW264.7 suggested that H-CDs had no toxicity to RAW264.7 cells. Meanwhile, compared with herbal tea, H-CDs have more obvious effect of promoting the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase. In addition, the secretion of nitric oxide (NO) was promoted by H-CDs. This work suggests that H-CDs have stronger immunoregulatory function than that of original herbal tea, which provides a direction for the application of phenolic hydroxyl-modified CDs in the biomedical field.

Antioxidation of a proteoglycan from Ganoderma lucidum protects pancreatic β-cells against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in vitro and in vivo

Oxidative stress is one of the major factors in induction of pancreatic β-cell apoptosis and diabetes. Here, we investigated systematically the roles of a proteoglycan (namely, FYGL) from Ganoderma lucidum in protection and repair of pancreatic β-cells against oxidative stress-induced injury and apoptosis on molecular, cellular and animal basis. FYGL in vitro had antioxidant activity in terms of scavenging of free radicals and reduction power. FYGL improved cells viability, insulin secretion, redox indicator expressions, and mitochondrial membrane potential in H2O2-induced INS-1 cell via regulating the activations of apoptosis-related mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathways as well as the insulin secretion-related pathway. Thrillingly in vivo, FYGL repaired the injured pancreas, reduced the pancreatic β-cells apoptosis, and improved insulin secretion because of regulating the balance of oxidation-reduction, therefore well managed blood glucose in db/db diabetic mice. These results demonstrated that FYGL is promising to be used as a novel natural remedy for protection of pancreatic β-cells against oxidative stress in diabetes treatment.

Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) an edible mushroom; a comprehensive and critical review of its nutritional, cosmeceutical, mycochemical, pharmacological, clinical, and toxicological properties

Reishi owes an exceptional value in nutritional, cosmeceutical, and medical treatments; however, none of the studies has provided its future-driven critical assessment. This study documents an up-to-date review (2015-2020, wherever applicable) and provide valuable insights (preclinical and clinical evidence-based) with comprehensive and critical assessments. Various databases 'Google scholar', 'Web of Science', 'ScienceDirect', 'PubMed', 'Springer Link', books, theses, and library resources were used. The taxonomic chaos of G. lucidum and its related species was discussed in detail with solution-oriented emphasis. Reishi contains polysaccharides (α/β-D-glucans), alkaloids, triterpenoids (ganoderic acids, ganoderenic acids, ganoderol, ganoderiol, lucidenic acids), sterols/ergosterol, proteins (LZ-8, LZ-9), nucleosides (adenosine, inosine, uridine), and nucleotides (guanine, adenine). Some active drugs are explored at an optimum level to make them potential drug candidates. The pharmacological potential was observed in diabetes, inflammation, epilepsy, neurodegeneration, cancer, anxiety, sedation, cardiac diseases, depression, hepatic diseases, and immune disorders; however, most of the studies are preclinical with a number of drawbacks. In particular, quality clinical data are intensely needed to support pharmacological activities for human use. The presence of numerous micro-, macro, and trace elements imparts an essential nutritional and cosmeceutical value to Reishi, and various marketed products are available already, but the clinical studies regarding safety and efficacy, interactions with foods/drinks, chronic use, teratogenicity, mutagenicity, and genotoxicity are missing for Reishi. Reishi possesses many valuable pharmacological activities, and the number of patents and clinical trials is increasing for Reishi. Yet, a gap in research exists for Reishi, which is discussed in detail in the forthcoming sections.

Oral absorption characteristics and mechanisms of a pectin-type polysaccharide from Smilax china L. across the intestinal epithelium

The elucidation of the oral absorption of natural polysaccharides contributes to their further research and utilization. Herein, to explore the absorption of a pectin-type polysaccharide from Smilax china L. (SCLP), SCLP was respectively fluorescently labeled with fluorescein-5-thioicarbazide (FSCLP) and Cyanine7 amine (Cy7-SCLP) for in vitro and in vivo tracking. The near-infrared imaging demonstrated that Cy7-SCLP was absorbable in the small intestine and distributed in the liver and kidney after oral administration. Subsequently, in vitro intestinal epithelial tissue experiments showed that the jejunum was the dominant site of FSCLP transport. Further transport studies in the Caco-2 cell monolayer illustrated that FSCLP was delivered across the monolayer via transcellular transport by caveolae-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis together with paracellular transport by reversibly affecting tight junctions. In summary, this work presents the oral absorption characteristics and mechanisms of SCLP through the intestinal epithelium, which will facilitate the further development of SCLP and pectin polysaccharides.

(±)-Gancochlearols J - N, renoprotective meroterpenoids from Ganoderma cochlear

Five pairs of meroterpenoid enantiomers, (±)-gancochlearols J - N (1-5), were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma cochlear. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS data. The absolute configurations of gancochlearols J - M (1-4) were assigned by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Biological evaluation showed that (-)-1 and (-)-2 could inhibit renal fibrosis in TGF-β1-induced rat kidney proximal tubular cells (NRK-52e).