Purification, characterization and anti-atherosclerotic effects of the polysaccharides from the fruiting body of Cordyceps militaris.

Hyperlipidemia is one major cause of atherosclerosis, which is a basic pathological change of cardiovascular diseases. Polysaccharide is a water-soluble component with lipid-lowering effects. In this study, alkaline-extracted polysaccharides were obtained from the fruiting body of C. militaris. Polysaccharides were purified via anion exchange and size exclusion chromatography. Their structural characteristics were investigated via chemical and spectroscopic methods. CM3I was mainly composed of →4)α-D-Glcp(1 → glycosyls and differed from starch due to the presence of →4,6)ß-D-Glcp(1 → glycosyls. CM3II was characterized by its backbone, which was composed of →4)-ß-D-Manp(1 → 6)-α-D-Manp(1 → 6)-ß-D-Manp(1 → linked glycosyls, and especially the presence of O-methyl. Moreover, CM3II exhibited powerful anti-atherosclerotic effects via lowering plasma lipid levels in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. The underlying mechanisms were attributed to its promoting effect on LXRα and inhibitory effect on SREBP-2. Collectively, CM3I and CM3II are different from the previously reported polysaccharides from C. militaris, and CM3II has a potential application in hypolipidemia and anti-atherosclerosis.

Characterization of α-glucosidase inhibitory constituents of the fruiting body of lion's mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus).

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Hericium erinaceus, commonly called lion's mane mushroom, is an edible and medicinal mushroom that has been traditionally used for the treatment of metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases and memory impairment. In this study, potential anti-hyperglycemic constituents were identified to support the traditional usage of H. erinaceus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The components of H. erinaceus were purified using various column chromatography techniques. The structure of the separated compounds was determined based on spectroscopic data analysis, i.e., 1D and 2D NMR analysis. The anti-hyperglycemic activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated by measuring the inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase activity. Molecular docking analysis was also conducted for elucidation of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of isolated compounds. RESULTS: Ten compounds including four new compounds, erinacenols A-D (1-4), were isolated from the fruiting bodies of H. erinaceus. Investigation of the anti-hyperglycemic effect of isolated compounds demonstrated that erinacenol D (4), 4-[3',7'-dimethyl-2',6'-octadienyl]-2-formyl-3-hydroxy-5-methyoxybenzylalcohol (6), hericene A (7), hericene D (8) and hericenone D (9) strongly inhibited α-glucosidase activity with IC50 values of <20 µM. The structure activity relationship suggested the importance of long side chain for α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Further analysis by molecular docking demonstrated the interaction of α-glucosidase and isolated compounds, which supported the inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase. CONCLUSION: Our present study demonstrated the beneficial effect of H. erinaceus by characterization of α-glucosidase inhibitory compounds, including four new compounds. This approach can be valuable support for the traditional use of H. erinaceus for the treatment of diabetes and metabolic diseases, which needs to be clarified by further in-vivo study.

Morphological and molecular identification of three new species of Tomentella from Finland.

Three new species of Tomentella (Thelephorales) from Finland, T. globosa, T. lammiensis, and T. longisterigmata, are described and illustrated with morphological characteristics and nuc rDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequences. T. globosa is characterized by mucedinoid, pale to dark brown basidiocarps adherent to the substrate, generative hyphae with clamps and rarely with simple septa, and echinulate, globose basidiospores (echinuli up to 1.5 µm long). T. lammiensis is characterized by mucedinoid, oxide yellow to golden brown basidiocarps adherent to the substrate, generative hyphae with clamps and rarely with simple septa, and echinulate, ellipsoid, triangular, or lobbed basidiospores (echinuli up to 2 µm long). T. longisterigmata is characterized by mucedinoid, dark brown to chestnut basidiocarps separable from the substrate, generative hyphae clamped and rarely with simple septa, the long basidial sterigmata (7-11 µm long), and echinulate, globose basidiospores (echinuli up to 2 µm long). An absence of rhizomorphs and cystidia is their common morphological feature. Molecular analyses by maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian analyses confirm the phylogenetic position of these three new species. The discriminating characters of these new species and their closely related species are discussed in this study, and a key to the species from Finland is provided.

Antiproliferative Activity and Cytotoxicity of Some Medicinal Wood-Destroying Mushrooms from Russia.

We analyzed the antiproliferative activity of 6 medicinal wood-destroying mushrooms (Fomes fomentarius, Fomitopsis pinicola, Trametes versicolor, Trichaptum biforme, Inonotus obliquus, and Coniophora puteana) that are common in deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in Central Russia. Morphological identification of strains collected from the wild was confirmed based on ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer phylogenetic analysis. We observed cytotoxic and cell growth-inhibitory effects of hot water extracts from mycelial biomass of 5 species-T. versicolor, C. puteana, F. fomentarius, F. pinicola, and I. obliquus-on leukemia cell lines (Jukart, K562, and THP-1); the effective extract concentrations were mostly less than 50 µg · mL-1. However, we observed no antiproliferative activity of dry biomass from methanol-chloroform (1:1) extracts of C. puteana and F. fomentarius. A chemosensitivity assay showed that the most effective polypore mushroom extract was the methanol extract of T. versicolor (strain It-1), which inhibited the growth of 6 various solid tumors (A-549 and SWi573 [lung], HBL-100 and T-47D [breast], HeLa [cervix], and WiDr [colon]) at concentrations below 45 µg · mL-1, with a concentration as low as 0.7-3.6 µg · mL-1 causing 50% reduction in the proliferation of cancer cells in lung and cervix tumors. Methanol extracts of F. pinicola and I. obliquus were less effective, with proliferation-inhibiting capacities at concentrations below 70 and 200 µg · mL-1, respectively. Thus, T. versicolor is a prospective candidate in the search for and production of new antiproliferative chemical compounds.

The genome and microbiome of a dikaryotic fungus (Inocybe terrigena, Inocybaceae) revealed by metagenomics.

Recent advances in molecular methods have increased our understanding of various fungal symbioses. However, little is known about genomic and microbiome features of most uncultured symbiotic fungal clades. Here, we analysed the genome and microbiome of Inocybaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota), a largely uncultured ectomycorrhizal clade known to form symbiotic associations with a wide variety of plant species. We used metagenomic sequencing and assembly of dikaryotic fruiting-body tissues from Inocybe terrigena (Fr.) Kuyper, to classify fungal and bacterial genomic sequences, and obtained a nearly complete fungal genome containing 93% of core eukaryotic genes. Comparative genomics reveals that I. terrigena is more similar to ectomycorrhizal and brown rot fungi than to white rot fungi. The reduction in lignin degradation capacity has been independent from and significantly faster than in closely related ectomycorrhizal clades supporting that ectomycorrhizal symbiosis evolved independently in Inocybe. The microbiome of I. terrigena fruiting-bodies includes bacteria with known symbiotic functions in other fungal and non-fungal host environments, suggesting potential symbiotic functions of these bacteria in fungal tissues regardless of habitat conditions. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of direct metagenomics analysis of fruiting-body tissues for characterizing fungal genomes and microbiome.

Unintentional ingestion of Cordyceps fungus-infected cicada nymphs causing ibotenic acid poisoning in Southern Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Cordyceps fungus found in infected cicada nymphs ("cicada flowers") is utilized in traditional Chinese medicine. Cordyceps fungus toxicity in humans has not been previously reported. We report 60 cases of apparent Cordyceps poisoning in Southern Vietnam. METHODS: We retrospectively collected demographic and clinical data from the medical records (21 cases) and by telephone interview (39 cases) of patients admitted to seven hospitals in Southern Vietnam following ingestion of cicada flowers between 2008 and 2015. We also determined the species of Cordyceps present in the cicada flowers and performed a partial chemical analysis of the fungus. RESULTS: Sixty cases of toxic effects following ingestion of cicada flowers were documented. Symptom onset occurred within 60 minutes following ingestion. Symptoms included dizziness, vomiting, salivation, mydriasis, jaw stiffness, urinary retention, seizures, agitated delirium, hallucinations, somnolence and coma. None of the patients suffered liver or kidney injury. There was one fatality. The Cordyceps fungus involved in these poisoning was identified as Ophiocordyceps heteropoda. The presence of ibotenic acid was confirmed, but musimol and muscarine were absent. CONCLUSIONS: Cicada infected with Ophiocordyceps heteropoda in Vietnam contain ibotenic acid and are associated with a clinical syndrome consistent with its effects.

Mushroom Emergence Detected by Combining Spore Trapping with Molecular Techniques.

Obtaining reliable and representative mushroom production data requires time-consuming sampling schemes. In this paper, we assessed a simple methodology to detect mushroom emergence by trapping the fungal spores of the fruiting body community in plots where mushroom production was determined weekly. We compared the performance of filter paper traps with that of funnel traps and combined these spore trapping methods with species-specific quantitative real-time PCR and Illumina MiSeq to determine the spore abundance. Significantly more MiSeq proportional reads were generated for both ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungal species using filter traps than were obtained using funnel traps. The spores of 37 fungal species that produced fruiting bodies in the study plots were identified. Spore community composition changed considerably over time due to the emergence of ephemeral fruiting bodies and rapid spore deposition (lasting from 1 to 2 weeks), which occurred in the absence of rainfall events. For many species, the emergence of epigeous fruiting bodies was followed by a peak in the relative abundance of their airborne spores. There were significant positive relationships between fruiting body yields and spore abundance in time for five of seven fungal species. There was no relationship between fruiting body yields and their spore abundance at plot level, indicating that some of the spores captured in each plot were arriving from the surrounding areas. Differences in fungal detection capacity by spore trapping may indicate different dispersal ability between fungal species. Further research can help to identify the spore rain patterns for most common fungal species.IMPORTANCE Mushroom monitoring represents a serious challenge in economic and logistical terms because sampling approaches demand extensive field work at both the spatial and temporal scales. In addition, the identification of fungal taxa depends on the expertise of experienced fungal taxonomists. Similarly, the study of fungal dispersal has been constrained by technological limitations, especially because the morphological identification of spores is a challenging and time-consuming task. Here, we demonstrate that spores from ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungal species can be identified using simple spore traps together with either MiSeq fungus-specific amplicon sequencing or species-specific quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, the proposed methodology can be used to characterize the airborne fungal community and to detect mushroom emergence in forest ecosystems.

Lentinula edodes Genome Survey and Postharvest Transcriptome Analysis.

Lentinula edodes is a popular, cultivated edible and medicinal mushroom. Lentinula edodes is susceptible to postharvest problems, such as gill browning, fruiting body softening, and lentinan degradation. We constructed a de novo assembly draft genome sequence and performed gene prediction for Lentinula edodesDe novo assembly was carried out using short reads from paired-end and mate-paired libraries and by using long reads by PacBio, resulting in a contig number of 1,951 and an N50 of 1 Mb. Furthermore, we predicted genes by Augustus using transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) data from the whole life cycle of Lentinula edodes, resulting in 12,959 predicted genes. This analysis revealed that Lentinula edodes lacks lignin peroxidase. To reveal genes involved in the loss of quality of Lentinula edodes postharvest fruiting bodies, transcriptome analysis was carried out using serial analysis of gene expression (SuperSAGE). This analysis revealed that many cell wall-related enzymes are upregulated after harvest, such as ß-1,3-1,6-glucan-degrading enzymes in glycoside hydrolase (GH) families GH5, GH16, GH30, GH55, and GH128, and thaumatin-like proteins. In addition, we found that several chitin-related genes are upregulated, such as putative chitinases in GH family 18, exochitinases in GH20, and a putative chitosanase in GH family 75. The results suggest that cell wall-degrading enzymes synergistically cooperate for rapid fruiting body autolysis. Many putative transcription factor genes were upregulated postharvest, such as genes containing high-mobility-group (HMG) domains and zinc finger domains. Several cell death-related proteins were also upregulated postharvest.IMPORTANCE Our data collectively suggest that there is a rapid fruiting body autolysis system in Lentinula edodes The genes for the loss of postharvest quality newly found in this research will be targets for the future breeding of strains that keep fresh longer than present strains. De novoLentinula edodes genome assembly data will be used for the construction of a complete Lentinula edodes chromosome map for future breeding.

Fungal spores and fruiting bodies in cervicovaginal smears: Contaminant or infection?

BACKGROUND: Contaminants from various sources are curious findings in cervicovaginal smears and pose diagnostic challenges especially when they need to be distinguished from pathogens. Candidiasis is the most frequently encountered fungal infection but fungal contaminants are relatively common. Detection of fruiting bodies and spores of Aspergillus species is uncommon and may represent either a true infection or contamination. This study was undertaken to evaluate the presence of fungal spores, hyphae, and fruiting bodies in routine cervical smears and distinguish a true infection from contamination. METHODS: Conventional cervicovaginal smears collected from women were incidentally found to have fungal fruiting bodies and spores. All smears received in the Cytology Department during that one month were reviewed for the presence of these elements. RESULTS: Five out of the 120 smears, received from the outpatient department over a period of three consecutive days, showed evidence of fungal organisms. The patients were 28-59 years of age. While four patients were asymptomatic, only one patient complained of minimal vaginal discharge. All were immunocompetent. Cervicovaginal smears were prepared as part of routine screening. Fungal fruiting bodies, branching hyphae and numerous spores were seen in otherwise normal smears. Culture of scrapings from the surface of the wooden spatulas grew Aspergillus niger. CONCLUSIONS: Contamination of Pap smears by fungus must be distinguished from true infection, the latter being supported by positive clinical findings and the presence of significant inflammation in the smears. Literature review was done to see the range of contaminants detected in Pap smears. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2017;45:191-194. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Purification, characterization and physiological significance of a chitinase from the pilei of Coprinopsis cinerea fruiting bodies.

We purified a chitinase from pilei extractions of Coprinopsis cinerea fruiting bodies by ammonium sulfate precipitation and CM Sepharose cation exchange chromatography. MALDI-TOF/TOF MS analysis characterized this purified chitinase as a putative class V chitinase, ChiB1. ChiB1 hydrolyzed colloidal chitin and chitosan, whereas it did not hydrolyze chitin powder. ChiB1 cleaved only pNP-(GlcNAc)2, rather than pNP-GlcNAc or pNP-(Glc-NAc)3, to release nitrophenol. ChiB1 preferably and progressively released (GlcNAc)2 from (GlcNAc)6 and digested (GlcNAc)6 to two molecules of (GlcNAc)3 in a small proportion, but did not split (GlcNAc)2, so it is an exochitinase. ChiB1 has an optimum temperature range of 35°C to 40°C and an optimum pH of 5.0. ChiB1 exhibited Km and Vmax values of 2.63 mg ml(-1) and 2.31 µmol min(-1) mg protein(-1) for colloidal chitin, respectively. The ChiB1 gene, along with another putative endochitinase (class III chitinase gene), was expressed dominantly among eight predicted chitinase genes in the genome, and its expression level increased with the maturation of fruiting bodies. ChiB1 incubation released a large amount of soluble ß-glucan fractions from alkali-insoluble cell wall fractions of C. cinerea fruiting bodies, thereby it may promote the degradation of cell walls in synergy with the ß-1,3-glucanases during pileus autolysis.

Early-diverging wood-decaying fungi detected using three complementary sampling methods.

Wood-decaying fungi are essential components of degradation systems in forest ecosystems. However, their species diversity and ecological features are largely unknown. Three methods are commonly used to investigate fungal diversity: fruiting body collection, culturing, and environmental DNA analysis. Because no single method fully characterises fungal diversity, complementary approaches using two or more methods are required. However, few studies have compared the different methods and determined the best way to characterise fungal diversity. To this end, we investigated wood-decomposing Dacrymycetes (Agaricomycotina, Basidiomycota) using a complementary approach combining fruiting body collection, culturing, and environmental DNA analysis, thereby offering an effective approach for investigating the diversity of saprotrophic mushrooms. Fruiting body collection, culturing, and environmental DNA analysis detected 11, 10, and 16 operational taxonomic units (OTUs; 25 OTUs in total) and identified three, seven, and seven novel lineages, respectively. The three methods were complementary to each other to detect greater Dacrymycetes diversity. The culturing and environmental DNA analysis identified three early-diverging lineages that were not identified in the fruiting body collection suggesting that diverse lineages lacking observable fruiting bodies remain undiscovered. Such lineages may be important to understand Dacrymycetes evolution. To detect early branches of Dacrymycetes more efficiently, we recommend a combined approach consisting of a primary environmental DNA survey to detect novel lineages and a secondary culture survey to isolate their living mycelia. This approach would be helpful for identifying otherwise-undetectable lineages, and could thus uncover missing links that are important for understanding the evolution of mushroom-forming fungi.

The Protective Action of the Aqueous Extract of Auricularia polytricha in Paracetamol Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats.

Natural antioxidant products are increasingly being used to treat various pathological liver injuries considering the role of oxidative stress in their pathogenesis. Auricularia polytricha has been used as food or medicine due to its antioxidant activity. The aim of the study was to evaluate the protective effect of the aqueous extract of the fruiting bodies of A. polytricha against paracetamol-induced liver toxicity in rats. Liver toxicity was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by oral administration of 2g/kg paracetamol on the 15th day after the administration of aqueous extract and silymarin 100 mg/kg. Aqueous extract of A. polytricha was administered orally at 250 and 500 mg/kg doses, daily for a period of 14 days. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine transaminase (ALT) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Total bilirubin (TB), Total protein (TP), Triglycerides (TG) and cholesterol were measured to assess the effect of the extract on paracetamol-induced hepatic damage. The patent on Auricularia Polytricha (EP0413052A1) assisted in selecting the extraction procedure. The study also included histopathological examination of liver sections to assess hepatoprotective activity. Paracetamol significantly (P<0.001) increased the serum AST, ALT, ALP, LDH, TB, TG and cholesterol and decreased TP levels. Extract treatment significantly (P<0.001 to P<0.05) attenuated the paracetamol induced increase in AST, ALT, ALP, LDH, TB, TG and cholesterol and increased the diminished TP in a dose dependent manner. The standard drug, silymarin produced significant (P<0.001) decrease in AST, ALT, ALP, LDH, TB, TG and cholesterol and increase in TP. Histopathological examination of animals treated with paracetamol showed large areas of centrilobular necrosis with congestion and dilatation in both central and portal veins. These results indicate that the aqueous extract of A. polytricha has significant protective effect against paracetamol-induced liver toxicity in rats, due to its potent antioxidant activity.

A novel fungal fruiting structure formed by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus carbonarius in grape berries.

Sour rot, is a pre-harvest disease that affects many grape varieties. Sour rot symptoms include initial berry cracking and breakdown of berry tissue. This is a disease complex with many filamentous fungi and bacteria involved, but is usually initiated by Aspergillus niger or Aspergillus carbonarius. Usually, by the time one sees the rot there are many other organisms involved and it is difficult to attribute the disease to one species. In this study two species of Aspergillus were shown to produce a previously unknown fruiting structure in infected berries. The nodulous morphology, bearing conidia, suggests them to be an 'everted polymorphic stroma'. This structure forms freely inside the berry pulp and assumes multiple shapes and sizes, sometimes sclerotium-like in form. It is composed of a mass of vegetative hyphae with or without tissue of the host containing spores or fruiting bodies bearing spores. Artificially inoculated berries placed in soil in winter showed the possible overwintering function of the fruiting body. Inoculated berry clusters on standing vines produced fruiting structures within 21 d post inoculation when wounds were made at veraison or after (July-September). Histological studies confirmed that the fruiting structure was indeed fungal tissue.

Systemic Screening of Strains of the Lion's Mane Medicinal Mushroom Hericium erinaceus (Higher Basidiomycetes) and Its Protective Effects on Aß-Triggered Neurotoxicity in PC12 Cells.

Hericium erinaceus possesses multiple medicinal values. To date, however, there have been few studies of the systemic screening of H. erinaceus strains, and the neuroprotective effects of H. erinaceus prepared from homogenized, fresh fruiting bodies are not fully understood. In this study, 4 random primers were selected and used in random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to screen and evaluate the genetic diversity of 19 commercial strains of H. erinaceus from different localities in China. A total of 66 bands were obtained, and the percentage of polymorphic loci reached 80.30%. Five dendrograms were constructed based on RAPD by Jaccard cluster and within-group linkage analysis. Primer S20 as well as all 4 primers had great potential as specific primers for RAPD-PCR molecular identification and differentiation of H. erinaceus strains. Based on the results of submerged culture and fruiting body cultivation, strains HT-N, HT-J1, HT-C, and HT-M were identified as superior among the 19 H. erinaceus strains. Further study showed that the oral preparation of homogenized, fresh fruiting bodies of H. erinaceus could attenuate the Aß25-35-triggered damage in PC12 cells by significantly increasing cell viability and by decreasing the release of lactate dehydrogenase. In conclusion, RAPD-PCR combined with liquid and solid cultures can be used well in the screening and identification of H. erinaceus strains, and products prepared from homogenized, fresh fruiting bodies of H. erinaceus had neuroprotective effects on PC12 cells.

Immune augmentation and Dalton's Lymphoma tumor inhibition by glucans/glycans isolated from the mycelia and fruit body of Pleurotus ostreatus.

With the increase in cancer progression, alternatives in the medicinal field with minimal side effects need to be ascertained. In this context, for the first time novel glucans/glycans isolated from the mycelia and fruit body of Pleurotus ostreatus have been compared for their exquisite property as immunoceuticals. Glucans from both the sources displayed immunological functions which include lymphocyte proliferation, macrophage activation (nitric oxide production, ROS generation, phagocytosis, TNF-α production) as well as macrophage and NK cell mediated cytotoxicity. In vivo studies with Dalton's Lymphoma mice tumor model further enumerated the immune enhancing and tumor regression potential of the two glucan molecules. Highest tumor inhibition of about 75% and 71.4% were observed at 20mg/kg of mycelia and fruit body glucan/glycan treatments. A concomitant increase in the survival period of glucan treated tumor bearing mice was found to be primarily associated with immune boosting and apoptosis of cancerous cells. Both the glucan molecules exhibited similar degree of immune response at the systemic level with only subtle amount of differences in two dimensional in vitro cultures. Efficacy of glucans/glycans as immunomodulators may thereby provide decisive leads in strengthening the immune system along with other therapies.

Bladder aspergillosis detected by urine cytology.

Bladder aspergillosis is an unusual infection. We report the case of a 79-year-old man with clinical records of transitional cell carcinoma diagnosed 5 years ago. The presence of a fruiting body and septate hyphae in urine cytological smears were the key for a final diagnosis of fungal bladder infection caused by Aspergillus niger.

Mycelial growth rate and macro- and micromorphological characteristics of medicinal species of genus Ganoderma (higher Basidiomycetes) from Iran.

Mycelial growth rate is a distinguishing quality that demonstrates continuous variation in different isolates collected from various hosts and locations. The objectives of this research were (1) to reinvestigate the previous identification of Iranian species, and (2) to recognize the best native isolate(s) for cultivation of different Ganoderma species. Of 78 samples collected from different hosts and sites, only 43 mycelia could be purified and examined for further study. Growth rate (GR; Δd/Δt) and growth coefficient (GC; dgh/t) were analyzed by growing isolate culture on 2% malt-extract agar medium (pH 5.5) incubated at 25°C. Macro- and micromorphological studies on mycelia and fruiting bodies such as basidiospore and cutis microcharacters as well as fruiting body quality were used for precise identification. Results revealed that samples belonged to 4 species: G. lucidum, G. applanatum, G. resinaceum, and G. australe. Among all samples, the isolate morphologically identified as G. applanatum showed the best GR (12 mm/day) and good GC (128 mm/day), followed by the 2 other isolates identified as G. resinaceum (GRs and GCs of 11 and 55 mm/day and 10.9 and 43.6 mm/day, respectively).

Improvement of yield of the edible and medicinal mushroom Lentinula edodes on wheat straw by use of supplemented spawn.

The research evaluated the interactions of two main factors (strain / types of spawn) on various parameters with the purpose to assess its effect on yield and biochemical composition of Lentinula edodes fruiting bodies cultivated on pasteurized wheat straw. The evaluation was made with four strains (IE-40, IE-105, IE-124 and IE-256). Different types of spawns were prepared: Control (C) (millet seed, 100%), F1 (millet seed, 88.5%; wheat bran, 8.8%; peat moss, 1.3%; and CaS04, 1.3%) and F2 (the same formula as F1, but substituting the wheat bran with powdered wheat straw). Wheat straw was pasteurized by soaking it for 1 h in water heated to 65 °C. After this the substrate (2 kg wet weight) was placed in polypropylene bags. The bags were inoculated with each spawn (5% w/w) and incubated in a dark room at 25 °C. A proximate analysis of mature fruiting bodies was conducted. The mean Biological Efficiency (BE) varied between 66.0% (C-IE-256) and 320.1% (F1-IE-124), with an average per strain of 125.6%. The highest mean BE was observed on spawn F1 (188.3%), significantly different from C and F2. The protein content of fruiting bodies was high, particularly in strain IE-40-F1 (17.7%). The amount of fat varied from 1.1 (F1-IE-40) to 2.1% (F2-IE-105) on dry matter. Carbohydrates ranged from 58.8% (F1-IE-40) to 66.1% (F1-IE-256). The energy value determined ranged from 302.9 kcal (F1-IE-40) to 332.0 kcal (F1-IE-256). The variability on BE observed in this study was significantly influenced by the spawn's formulation and genetic factors of the different strains.

Heteroglycan of an edible mushroom Entoloma lividoalbum: structural characterization and study of its protective role for human lymphocytes.

A water soluble heteroglycan (PS-II) of an average molecular weight ∼5.2×10(4)Da was isolated from the alkaline extract of an edible mushroom Entoloma lividoalbum (Kühner & Romagn) Kubicka. Structural characterization of PS-II was carried out using sugar and methylation analysis, periodate oxidation study, and 1D/2D NMR experiments. Sugar analysis indicated the presence of glucose, mannose, galactose, and fucose in a molar ratio of nearly 5:1:2:1. The repeating unit of the PS-II had a backbone consisting of two (1→3)-ß-d-glucopyranosyl, one (1→6)-ß-d-glucopyranosyl, one (1→2)-α-L-fucopyranosyl, one (1→6)-α-d-glucopyranosyl, and two (1→6)-α-d-galactopyranosyl residues, out of which one (1→3)-ß-d-glucopyranosyl residue was branched at O-6 position with terminal ß-d-glucopyranosyl residue and one (1→6)-α-d-galactopyranosyl residue was branched at O-2 position with terminal ß-d-mannopyranosyl residue. PS-II showed ameliorative activities at different concentrations (50, 100, 200, 400µg/ml) and maintained the redox balance as well as reduced the lipid peroxidation to protect the cell destruction.

Improvement of yield of the edible and medicinal mushroom Lentinula edodes on wheat straw by use of supplemented spawn

The research evaluated the interactions of two main factors (strain / types of spawn) on various parameters with the purpose to assess its effect on yield and biochemical composition of Lentinula edodes fruiting bodies cultivated on pasteurized wheat straw. The evaluation was made with four strains (IE-40, IE-105, IE-124 and IE-256). Different types of spawns were prepared: Control (C) (millet seed, 100%), F1 (millet seed, 88.5%; wheat bran, 8.8%; peat moss, 1.3%; and CaS0(4), 1.3%) and F2 (the same formula as F1, but substituting the wheat bran with powdered wheat straw). Wheat straw was pasteurized by soaking it for 1 h in water heated to 65 °C. After this the substrate (2 kg wet weight) was placed in polypropylene bags. The bags were inoculated with each spawn (5% w/w) and incubated in a dark room at 25 °C. A proximate analysis of mature fruiting bodies was conducted. The mean Biological Efficiency (BE) varied between 66.0% (C-IE-256) and 320.1% (F1-IE-124), with an average per strain of 125.6%. The highest mean BE was observed on spawn F1 (188.3%), significantly different from C and F2. The protein content of fruiting bodies was high, particularly in strain IE-40-F1 (17.7%). The amount of fat varied from 1.1 (F1-IE-40) to 2.1% (F2-IE-105) on dry matter. Carbohydrates ranged from 58.8% (F1-IE-40) to 66.1% (F1-IE-256). The energy value determined ranged from 302.9 kcal (F1-IE-40) to 332.0 kcal (F1-IE-256). The variability on BE observed in this study was significantly influenced by the spawn's formulation and genetic factors of the different strains.