Niuchangchih (Antrodia camphorata) and its potential in treating liver diseases.

Niuchangchih (Antrodia camphorata (M. Zang & C.H. Su) Sheng H. Wu, Ryvarden & T.T. Chang) is a basidiomycete endemic to Taiwan. It is well known as a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and Taiwanese aborigines used this species to treat liver diseases and food and drug intoxication. The compounds identified in Niuchangchih are predominantly polysaccharides, triterpenoids, steroids, benzenoids and maleic/succinic acid derivatives. Recent research has revealed that Niuchangchih possesses extensive biological activity, such as hepatoprotective, antihypertensive, anti-hyperlipidemic, immuno-modulatory, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. The fruiting bodies and fermented products of Niuchangchih have been reported to exhibit activity when treating liver diseases, such as preventing ethanol-, CCl(4)- and cytokine-induced liver injury, inhibiting the hepatitis B virus, ameliorating fatty liver and liver fibrosis, and inhibiting liver cancer cells. This review will address the protective effects of Niuchangchih on the pathological development of liver diseases, and the underlying mechanisms of action are also discussed.

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of the dry matter of culture broth of Termitomyces albuminosus and its extracts.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The objectives of this study were to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of the dry matter of culture broth (DMCB) of Termitomyces albuminosus in submerged culture and its crude saponin extract (CSE) and crude polysaccharide extract (CPE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The analgesic effects of DMCB, CSE and CPE were evaluated with models of acetic acid-induced writhing response and formalin test in mouse. The anti-inflammatory effects of DMCB, CSE and CPE were evaluated by using models of xylene-induced mouse ear swelling and carrageen-induced mouse paw edema. RESULTS: The DMCB, CSE and CPE significantly decreased the acetic acid-induced writhing response and the licking time on the late phase in the formalin test. Treatment of DMCB (1000mg/kg), CSE (200mg/kg) or CPE (200mg/kg) inhibited the mouse ear swelling by 61.8%, 79.0% and 81.6%, respectively. In the carrageen-induced mouse paw edema test, the group treated with indomethacin showed the strongest inhibition of edema formation by 77.8% in the third hour after carrageenan administration, while DMCB (1000mg/kg), CSE (200mg/kg) and CPE (200mg/kg) showed 48.4%, 55.6% and 40.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that DMCB of Termitomyces albuminosus possessed the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. Saponins and polysaccharides were proposed to be the major active constituents of Termitomyces albuminosus in submerged culture.

Antihyperglycemic and antilipidperoxidative effects of dry matter of culture broth of Inonotus obliquus in submerged culture on normal and alloxan-diabetes mice.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The antihyperglycemic and antilipidperoxidative effects of the dry matter of culture broth (DMCB) of Inonotus obliquus were investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The normal, glucose-induced hyperglycemic and alloxan-induced diabetic mice were used to evaluate the antihyperglycemic and antilipidperoxidative effects of the DMCB of Inonotus obliquus. RESULTS: Treatment with the DMCB (500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight) exhibited a mild hypoglycemic effect in normal mice, and failed to reduce the peak glucose levels after glucose administration. However, euglycemia was achieved in the DMCB of Inonotus obliquus (1000 mg/kg) and glibenclamide-treated mice after 120 min of glucose loading. In alloxan-induced diabetic mice, the DMCB (500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight for 21 days) showed a significant decrease in blood glucose level, the percentages reduction on the 7th day were 11.90 and 15.79%, respectively. However, feeding of this drug for 3 weeks produced reduction was 30.07 and 31.30%. Furthermore, the DMCB treatment significantly decreased serum contents of free fatty acid (FFA), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), whereas effectively increased high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), insulin level and hepatic glycogen contents in liver on diabetic mice. Besides, the DMCB treatment significantly increased catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities except for decreasing maleic dialdehyde (MDA) level in diabetic mice. Histological morphology examination showed that the DMCB restored the damage of pancreas tissues in mice with diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that the DMCB of Inonotus obliquus possesses significant antihyperglycemic, antilipidperoxidative and antioxidant effects in alloxan-induced diabetic mice.

Protective effects of mycelia of Antrodia camphorata and Armillariella tabescens in submerged culture against ethanol-induced hepatic toxicity in rats.

The hepatoprotective effects of the mycelia of Antrodia camphorata and Armillariella tabescens were evaluated in vivo using acute ethanol-intoxicated rats as an experimental model. Animals were orally treated with Antrodia camphorata (0.5 or 1.0 g/kg b.w.) or Armillariella tabescens (0.5 or 1.0 g/kg b.w.) for 10 days whereas controls received vehicle only. At the end of the experimental 10-day period, the animals were administered by gavage with an acute ethanol dose of 5.0 g/kg b.w. diluted in deionized water (6:4, v/v) and sacrificed at 18 h after ethanol administration. The degree of protection was measured by using biochemical parameters like serum transaminases (AST and ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin. Meanwhile, the histopathological studies were carried out to support the above parameters. Administration of Antrodia camphorata or Armillariella tabescens markedly prevented ethanol-induced elevation of levels of serum AST, ALT, ALP, and bilirubin comparable with standard drug silymarin.

A myxobacterium strain Sorangium cellulosum AHB125 producing epothilone B and other anticancer substances.

A myxobacterium strain AHB125 belonging to genus Sorangium cellulosum was isolated from Anhui area in China and identified with morphological analysis by electron microscopy and phase contrast microscope according to Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology (8th Ed.). Its high-antitumor bioactivity metabolites was evaluated by bioassay-directed screening technique with B16 tumor cell line etc. Research results showed that it exhibited not only strong antitumor ability bioactivities and broad-spectrum antitumor abilities to B16, Bel7402, H446, SGC7901 cell lines, but also has selectivity and pertinence to B16 and SGC7901 cell lines. The compound was confirmed as epothilone B by HPLC and LC/MS analysis, compared to the epothilone B standard sample. Bioassay indicated that there were other high-bioactive substances in the metabolites.

Further studies on the hepatoprotective effect of Antrodia camphorata in submerged culture on ethanol-induced acute liver injury in rats.

To further understand the hepatoprotective activity of Antrodia camphorata in living systems and the possible mechanisms of this protection, the effects of fractions from A. camphorata in submerged culture on the liver and its antioxidative system in acute ethanol intoxicated rats were investigated. The results showed that the ethanolic extract (Fr-I) of A. camphorata was the most effective in the prevention of ethanol-induced acute liver injury and free radical generation in rats. The ethanolic extract administrated prior to ethanol significantly prevented the increase in serum levels of hepatic enzyme markers such as aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase. It also normalised the increase of hepatic malondialdehyde concentration and the decrease of glutathione levels in the liver. Moreover, Fr-I improved the ethanol-induced decrease of hepatic glutathione peroxidase and reductase activities. On the basis of these results, the ethanolic extract of A. camphorata may exert its hepatoprotective activity by up-regulating GSH-dependent enzymes and inhibiting free radical formation in the liver.

Deuterium-depleted water inhibits human lung carcinoma cell growth by apoptosis.

To investigate the in vivo and in vitro inhibitory effects of deuterium-depleted water (DDW) on human lung cancer and the possible mechanisms underlying these effects, we cultured and treated human lung carcinoma cell line A549 and human embryonic lung fibroblasts HLF-1 with various concentrations of DDW from 2 to 72 h. Cellular growth inhibition rates were determined using the 3-(4, 5-dimethyldiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium-bromide) (MTT) proliferation assay. A549 cells were treated with 50±5 ppm DDW, and the morphology and structure of cells were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We observed alterations in the cellular skeleton by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and changes in cell cycle by flow cytometry. Our data showed that DDW significantly inhibited the proliferation of A549 cells at a specific time point, and cells demonstrated the characteristic morphological changes of apoptosis under SEM and TEM. The length of the S phase increased significantly in cells treated with 50 ppm DDW, whereas the G0 to G1 phase and G2 to M phase were decreased. We observed DDW-induced cellular apoptosis using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and DNA fragment analyses. In addition, we established a tumor transplantion model by injecting H460 tumor cells into subcutaneous tissue of BALB/c mice treated with DDW for 60 days. We determined the tumor inhibition rate of treated and control groups and found that the tumor weight was significantly decreased and the tumor inhibition rate was approximately 30% in the DDW group. We conclude that DDW is a promising new anticancer agent with potential for future clinical application.