Study on the physicochemical properties and immunomodulatory anti-tumor effect of the Pholiota adiposa polysaccharide

Recent advances in natural polysaccharides against hepatocellular carcinoma: A review

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor of the digestive system that poses a serious threat to human life and health. Chemotherapeutic drugs commonly used in the clinic have limited efficacy and heavy adverse effects. Therefore, it is imperative to find effective and safe alternatives, and natural polysaccharides (NPs) fit the bill. This paper summarizes in detail the anti-HCC activity of NPs in vitro, animal and clinical trials. Furthermore, the addition of NPs can reduce the deleterious effects of chemotherapeutic drugs such as immunotoxicity, bone marrow suppression, oxidative stress, etc. The potential mechanisms are related to induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, block of angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, stimulation of immune activity and targeting of MircoRNA. And on this basis, we further elucidate that the anti-HCC activity may be related to the monosaccharide composition, molecular weight (Mw), conformational features and structural modifications of NPs. In addition, due to its good physicochemical properties, it is widely used as a drug carrier in the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and small molecule components. This review provides a favorable theoretical basis for the application of the anti-HCC activity of NPs.

Antitumor effects of polysaccharides from medicinal lower plants: A review

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, yet the drugs currently approved for cancer treatment are associated with significant side effects, making it urgent to develop alternative drugs with low side effects. Polysaccharides are natural polymers with ketone or aldehyde groups, which are widely found in plants and have various biological activities such as immunomodulation, antitumor and hypolipidemic. The lower plants have attracted much attention for their outstanding anticancer effects, and many studies have shown that medicinal lower plant polysaccharides (MLPPs) have antitumor activity against various cancers and are promising alternatives with potential development in the food and pharmaceutical fields. Therefore, this review describes the structure and mechanism of action of MLPPs with antitumor activity. In addition, the application of MLPPs in cancer treatment is discussed, and the future development of MLPPs is explored.

Strategical development of chrome-free tanning agent by integrating layered double hydroxide with starch derivatives

The development of sustainable and eco-friendly leather industry requires green tanning agents because of unbounded chromium (easily converted into hazardous Cr-VI) in chrome tanned leather. In this study, a chrome-free tanning agent (OS-LDHs) was established by integrating layered double hydroxide (magnesium aluminum zirconium hydrotalcite, LDHs) with starch derivatives. A series of oxidized starch (OS) were prepared as masking agents for LDHs tanning process. Among them, the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of 1685 g/mol could be reached, which will promise the well-distribution of OS. The SEM and EDS analysis confirmed the uniform penetration of OS-LDHs, avoiding accumulation on the surface of crust leather. Notably, leather tanned by OS-LDHs achieved shrinkage temperature of 66.7 °C, porosity of 75.51 % and tear strength of 66.7 N/mm. Not only the hydrogen bond but also the coordination between NH₂, COOH in collagen and OS-2-LDHs improved the thermal stability of leather without destroying the collagen triple helix.

Medicinal Value, Biological Characteristics, and Domestication of the Wild Mushroom Pholiota adiposa (Agaricomycetes)

Pholiota adiposa is an important edible and medicinal mushroom with high nutritional and medicinal effects. The fruiting body of wild fungi collected from Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, was identified by morphological description and molecular identification, the biological characteristics and domestication of the fungus was determined by single factor and orthogonal tests. The wild strain isolated was determined to be Ph. adiposa based on morphological characteristics, sequence alignment between ITS and nLSU, and phylogenetic relationship analysis. The single factor results revealed that the optimal carbon source, nitrogen source, culture temperature, and pH for the mycelia growth of Ph. adiposa were glucose, yeast paste, 25°C, and pH 6.5-7.0, respectively. Orthogonal test showed that the optimal formula for mycelia culture was fructose 20 g/L, yeast extract 6 g/L, KH2PO4 1 g/L and MgSO4 2.5 g/L. The highest single bag yield of the fruiting body of Ph. adiposa was 24.96 g in the culture medium formula of sawdust (20%), wheat bran (10%), soybean powder (1%), and quicklime powder (1%). The results will provide basic information for the protection, utilization and domestication of the resources of Ph. adiposa.

Mushroom Polysaccharide-Assisted Anticarcinogenic Mycotherapy: Reviewing Its Clinical Trials

Of the biologically active components, polysaccharides play a crucial role of high medical and pharmaceutical significance. Mushrooms have existed for a long time, dating back to the time of the Ancient Egypt and continue to be well explored globally and experimented with in research as well as in national and international cuisines. Mushroom polysaccharides have slowly become valuable sources of nutraceuticals which have been able to treat various diseases and disorders in humans. The application of mushroom polysaccharides for anticancer mycotherapy is what is being reviewed herein. The widespread health benefits of mushroom polysaccharides have been highlighted and the significant inputs of mushroom-based polysaccharides in anticancer clinical trials have been presented. The challenges and limitation of mushroom polysaccharides into this application and the gaps in the current application areas that could be the future direction have been discussed.