Lentinus edodes polysaccharide

Lentinus edodes (shiitake) is an edible mushroom that contains a polysaccharide, lentinan. Its use is occasionally associated with skin reactions (1,2). 

The most famous example of non-specific polysaccharide immunoadjuvants is lentinan isolated from Lentinus edodes. Since 1985, lentinan has been used as an antitumor agent. Lentinan is a (1 3)-/3-glucop)ranan bearing (1 6)-/3-glucopyranoside branches (O Scheme 1). This neutral polysaccharide suppresses the proliferation of sarcoma 180 tumors implanted subcutaneously in mice. Its antitumor activity was due to a host-mediated reaction with participation of thymus or thymus-dependent cells [1]. The lymphokines induced by this polysaccharide enhance the activity of lymphocytes (e. g., macrophages, helper T cells, and/or natural killer cells) in a dramatic manner [2,3,4,5]. Lentinan-like (1 3)-/3-glucopyranan (schizophyllan) contained in the insoluble fraction of Schizophyllum commune has the stracture shown in O Scheme 2 and is known to possess antitumor activity [6]. 

Sasaki, T. Takasuka, N. Further study of the structure of lentinan, an antitumor polysaccharide from Lentinus edodes. Carbohydr. Res. 1976, 47, 99-104. 

Hashimoto, T., Y. Nonaka, K. Minato, et al. 2002. Suppressive effect of polysaccharides from the edible and medicinal mushrooms, Lentinus edodes and Agaricus hlazei, on the expression of cytochrome P450s in mica Biosd. Biotech. Biochem. 66(7) 1610-1614... 

Lee, H.H., J.S. Lee, J.Y. Cho, YE. Kim, and E.K. Hong. 2009b. Study on immimostimulating activity of macrophage treated with purified polysaccharides from liquid culture and fruiting body of Lentinus edodes. J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 19(6) 566. 

Liu, M., J. Li, F. Kong, J. Lin, and Y. Gao. 1998. Induction of immunomodulating cytokines by a new polysaccharide-peptide complex from culture mycelia of Lentinus edodes. Immuncfharmacology 40(3) 187-198,... 

Chihara, G., Maeda, Y., Hamuro, J., Sasaki, T., and Fukuoka, F. 1969. Inhibition of mouse sarcoma 180 by polysaccharides from Lentinus edodes (Berk.) sing. Nature, 222 687-688. 

Chihara G, Hamuro J, Maeda YY, Arai Y, Fukuoka F (1970) Fractionation and purification of the polysaccharides with marked antitumor activity, especially lentinan, from Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Sing, (an edible mushroom). Cancer Res 30 1776-17SI... 

H.S. Kim, S. Kacew and B-M. Lee, Tn vitro chemopreventive effects of plant polysaccharides Aloe barbadensis Miller, Lentinus edodes, Ganoderma lucidum and Coriolus versicolor), Carcinogenesis, 20 (8), 1637-1640,1999. 

The surface of the oocytes of starfish is thought to carry receptors for 1-methyladenine, which induces maturation by a mechanism as yet unexplained. A heterogalactan from Lentinus edodes, which contains an a-(l 6)-linked D-galactopyranosyl backbone with single-unit L-fucopyranosyl and D-mannopyranosyl side-chains, completely inhibited maturation of the oocytes, due to the presence of either ot-(l -> 6)-galactan or a-(l -> 6)-D-galacto-oligosaccharide sequences in the polysaccharide. ... 

Suppression of Cytochrome P4501 a Subfamily in Mouse Liver by Oral Intake of Polysaccharides from Mushrooms, Lentinus edodes and Agaricus blazei... 

Mushrooms have been consumed as flavorful and medicinal foods for millenniums. Mushroom polysaccharides possess antitumor activity through the stimulation of cytokine productions from immunocytes. On the other hand, lipopolysaccharide suppresses the expression of various hepatic cytochrome P450s (CYPs) through the production of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a. In this study, lentinan prepared from Lentinus edodes and polysaccharides from Agaricus blazei (ABPS) were intraperitoneally injected to female BALB/c mice, and the effects of these polysaccharides on the expression of CYPs were investigated in the liver. Both polysaccharides down-regulated the activity and level of constitutive and 3-methylcholanthrene-inducible CYPIA accompanied by the TNF-a production. When... 

---