The Shaggy Ink Cap Medicinal Mushroom, Coprinus comatus (Higher Basidiomycetes) Extract Induces Apoptosis in Ovarian Cancer Cells via Extrinsic and Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathways

Immobilization of Coprinus comatus with magnetic alginate hydrogel microsphere for improving the antioxidant activity of fermentation products

Coprinus comatus is an edible mushroom and its fermented product possesses antioxidant activity. In this study, to further enhance the antioxidant activity and improve the reusability of the strain, calcium alginate hydrogel was used as the carrier for embedding and immobilizing Coprinus comatus. The effects of CaCl2 concentration, sodium alginate concentration, microsphere diameter, and the amount of magnetic particle on the antioxidant activity of fermented products were investigated. The results showed that the magnetic immobilized microsphere prepared by 2.50% CaCl2, 2.00% sodium alginate and 0.50% Fe3O4 had the best fermentation antioxidant activity (EC50 was 0.43 ± 0.01 mg/mL) when the diameter was 5 mm, which increased by 24.56% compared to the initial activity. Besides, the microsphere showed strong reusability, the antioxidant activity was still better than the free strain after being used five times. This study not only enhanced the antioxidant activity of Coprinus comatus fermented product through immobilization, but also provided an effective method for microbial fermentation.

Treasures from the forest: Evaluation of mushroom extracts as anti-cancer agents

Mushrooms provide a reliable source of bioactive compounds and have numerous nutritional values, which is one of the reasons why they are widely used for culinary purposes. They may also be a remedy for several medical conditions, including cancer diseases. Given the constantly increasing number of cancer incidents, the great anticancer potential of mushrooms has unsurprisingly become an object of interest to researchers. Therefore, this review aimed to collect and summarize all the available scientific data on the anti-cancer activity of mushroom extracts. Our research showed that mushroom extracts from 92 species, prepared using 12 different solvents, could reduce the viability of 38 various cancers. Additionally, we evaluated different experimental models: in vitro (cell model), in vivo (mice and rat model, case studies and randomized controlled trials), and in silico. Breast cancer proved to be sensitive to the highest number of mushroom extracts. The curative mechanisms of the studied mushrooms consisted in: inhibition of cancer cell proliferation, unregulated proportion of cells in cell cycle phases, induction of autophagy and phagocytosis, improved response of the immune system, and induction of apoptotic death of cells via upregulation of pro-apoptotic factors and downregulation of anti-apoptotic genes. The processes mainly involved the expression of caspases -3, -8, -9, AKT, p27, p53, BAX, and BCL2. The quoted results could lead to the classification of mushrooms as nutraceuticals used to prevent a variety of disorders or to support treatment of cancer diseases.

Total flavones of fermentation broth by co-culture of Coprinus comatus and Morchella esculenta induces an anti-inflammatory effect on LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages cells via the MAPK signaling pathway

The inflammatory cellular model of RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has always been used to investigate the effect of anti-inflammatory agents in vitro. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory activity of total flavones extracted from the fermentation broth of the co-culture of Coprinus comatus and Morchella esculenta (MCF-F), and its potential molecular mechanism in LPS-challenged RAW264.7 macrophage cells were investigated. The data revealed that MCF-F exhibited anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. At the same time, MCF-F was less cytotoxic under a concentration of 16 μg/ml in RAW264.7 cells. The anti-inflammatory activity of MCF-F was detected using the Griess method and ELISA assay, and the results well-corroborated with the observed decrease in expression in pro-inflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-α and inteleukin-1β (IL-1β). In addition, the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase2 (COX-2) were confirmed by RT-PCR and western blot, and it was found that both mRNA and protein levels were downregulated after MCF-F treatment. The data also revealed that MCF-F downregulated the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK and P38 MAPK. Collectively, these results lead to the conclusion that MCF-F exerts an anti-inflammatory effect against LPS-challenged RAW264.7 cells via the MAPK pathway.