Immunochemical Cross-Reactivity of ß-Glucan in the Medicinal Plant, Sasa veitchii (Japanese Folk Medicine Kumazasa), and Medicinal Mushrooms.

Fungal ß-glucan is a representative pathogen-associated molecular pattern from mushroom, yeast, and fungi and stimulates innate as well as acquired immune systems. This ß-glucan is widely applied in functional food to enhance immunity. Humans and animals generally become sensitized to this ß-glucan and gradually produce specific antibodies to ß-glucans. The extracts of plants have been used as folk medicine and are reported to possess various biological activities that are beneficial for human health, such as antitumor, antiallergic, and anti-inflammatory activities. In the present study, the immunochemical cross-reactivity of Sasa extract and fungal ß-glucan was analyzed. We found that the anti-ß-glucan antibody in human sera strongly cross-reacted with the Sasa extract. This result strongly suggested that plant extracts modulate the immunostimulating effects of medicinal mushrooms. The cooperative effects of plants and mushrooms may be an important issue for functional foods.