Oral administration of an aqueous extract from the oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus enhances the immunonutritional recovery of malnourished mice.

Mushroom nutriceutical components have lately attracted interest for developing immunonutritional support. However, there is relatively little information pertaining to the use of mushroom preparations for modulating the metabolic and immunological disorders associated to malnutrition. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of oral administration of an aqueous extract (CW-P) from Pleurotus ostreatus on the recovery of biochemical and immunological functions of malnourished mice. 8-week old female BALB/c mice were starved for 3days and then refed with commercial diet supplemented with or without CW-P (100mg/kg) for 8days. Regardless of the diet used during refeeding, animal body weights and serum protein concentrations did not differ between groups. Oral treatment with CW-P normalized haemoglobin levels, liver arginase and gut mucosal weight. CW-P increased total liver proteins and also DNA and protein contents in gut mucosa. Pleurotus extract provided benefits in terms of macrophages activation as well as in haemopoiesis, as judged by the recovery of bone marrow cells and leukocyte counts. Moreover, CW-P stimulated humoral immunity (T-dependent and T non-dependent antibodies responses) compared to non-supplemented mice. CW-P extract from the oyster mushroom can be used to develop specific food or nutritional supplement formulations with potential clinical applications in the immunotherapy.

Oral administration of an enzymatic protein hydrolysate from the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris enhances the nutritional recovery of malnourished mice.

This study examined the effects of oral administration of an enzymatic protein hydrolysate from green microalga Chlorella vulgaris (Cv-PH) on the nutritional recovery of malnourished Balb/c mice after a 3-day fasting period. Mice were refed with commercial diet supplemented or not supplemented with Cv-PH (500 mg/kg) for 8 days. Regardless of the diet used during refeeding, animal body weights and serum protein concentrations did not differ between groups. Mice given Cv-PH had a significant increase in hemoglobin concentrations. Most serum amino acid levels were similar in the control and Cv-PH animals. Starved mice refed with Cv-PH showed normal liver functions, as judged by liver weight, protein concentration, and the enzymatic activities of cholinesterase and arginase. Cv-PH increased DNA, protein content, and gut-mucosal weight. In addition, brush-border oligosaccharidase activities were also higher in the Cv-PH group. These findings suggest that Chlorella protein hydrolysate can be used to develop specific formulations suitable for pharmacologic nutrition.