Research Progress of Bioactive Proteins from the Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms.

For centuries, mushrooms have been widely used as traditional Chinese medicine in Asia. Apart from polysaccharides and some small-molecule components, such as flavones, polyphenols and terpenes, mushrooms produce a large number of pharmaceutically active proteins, which have become popular sources of natural antitumor, antimicrobial, immunoenhancing agents. These bioactive proteins include lectins, laccases, Ribosome Inactivating Proteins (RIPs), nucleases, and Fungal Immunomodulatory Proteins (FIPs). The review is to summarize the characterstics of structure and bioactivities involved in antitumor, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial and immunoenhancing activities of proteins from edible mushrooms, to better understand their mechanisms, and to direct research.

Antihyperglycaemic mechanisms of an aceteoside polymer from rose flowers and a polysaccharide-protein complex from abalone mushroom.

Oral administration of an aceteoside polymer from rose Rosa rugosa (P1-b) and a polysaccharide-peptide complex from abalone mushroom Pleurotus abalonus (LB-1b), both with antioxidant activity, produced antihyperglycaemic effects in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. The expression of insulin, superoxide dismutase and pancreas duodenum homeobox factor-1 essential for pancreatic islet function as estimated by real-time PCR was augmented. The reactive oxygen species-scavenging ability of the rose constituent was notably stronger than the mushroom constituent. Thus, the two biomolecules protected the pancreas from oxidative stress, elevated pancreatic insulin expression and lowered circulating glucose level.