Mushroom polysaccharides as therapeutics

Mushroom polysaccharides have shown antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and antilipemic to immunomodulatory properties.

The ß-glucan, a component of fungal cell wall, has proven its therapeutic relevance.

The variants of ß-glucans include pleuran from Pleurotus, lentinan from Lentinus, schizophyllan from Schizophyllum, grifolan from Grifola etc. Some ß-glucans are bound to proteins, as proteoglycan, such as PSK or krestin from Trametes versicolor.

Beta-glucans interact with receptors of macrophages, and dendritic cells. These glucans bind to the membrane pattern recognition receptors, TLRs and dectin-1, inducing innate immune activity. On attachment to the ß-glucan, dectin-1 is phosphorylated by tyrosine kinases, and induces an intracellular signaling cascade. The recognition of the glucan by the macrophage triggers proinflammatory cytokine production such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a) and various interleukins (ILs).

So, the pharmacological spectrum of mushroom polysaccharides is worth-exploring with bioprospecting and metabolomics approaches. With due research attention, they might be developed as dietary supplements to resolve metabolic syndromes.

For more information, please read: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29864626/


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