The incidence and mortality of strokes have increased over the past three decades in China. Ischemic strokes can cause a sequence of detrimental events in patients, including increased permeability and dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier, brain edema, metabolic disturbance, endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, oxidative stress, inflammation, neuron death and apoptosis, and cognitive impairment. Thrombolysis using recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and mechanical embolectomy with a retrievable stent are two recognized strategies to achieve reperfusion after a stroke. Nevertheless, rtPA has a narrow therapeutic timeframe, and mechanical embolectomy has limited rates of good neurological outcomes. EGb761 is a standardized and extensively studied extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves. The ginkgolides and bilobalide that constitute a critical part of EGb761 have demonstrated protective properties towards cerebral injury. Ginkgolides include Ginkgolide A (GA), Ginkgolide B (GB), Ginkgolide C (GC), Ginkgolide J (GJ), Ginkgolide K (GK), Ginkgolide L (GL), and Ginkgolide M (GM). This review seeks to elucidate the neuroprotective effects and mechanisms of ginkgolides, especially GA and GB, and bilobalide in cerebral injury following ischemic strokes.

Vitamin D deficiency is a serious global health problem. Edible mushrooms are a good source of vitamin D for human health. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the efficiency of converting its precursor ergosterol to vitamin D2 in shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) and oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) powder in ethanol suspension under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. UV irradiation conditions were optimized for several parameters, such as material form, wavelength, wavelength combination, and exposure time. Under the optimal conditions, UV irradiation increased the concentrations of vitamin D2 from undetectable to 40.59 ± 1.16 μg/g (dw) in dry shiitake mushroom powder and to 677.28 ± 40.42 μg/g (dw) (an approximately 16.69-fold increase) in ethanol suspension. The concentration of vitamin D2 increased from undetectable to 23.71 ± 5.72 μg/g (dw) in the dry oyster mushroom powder upon UV irradiation, whereas UV irradiation increased the concentration to 275.32 ± 48.45 μg/g (dw) (an approximately 11.61-fold increase) in the ethanol suspension. Comparing the effects of varying combinations of wavelengths showed that irradiation with UV-A, UV-C, or a combination of both is more effective than UV-B irradiation. In addition, the increase in vitamin D2 in shiitake mushrooms irradiated by UV-C was time-dependent, that is, dose-dependent. Nevertheless, the increase rates decreased with time. The concentration of ergosterol decreased with the increase in vitamin D2, but ergosterol was only partially converted to vitamin D2, whereas most of the ergosterol was probably UV-degraded. Exposure to ultraviolet light in ethanol suspension offers an effective way to increase the concentration of vitamin D2 and thus improve the nutritional value of edible mushrooms, as well as make them more functional as a source of vitamin D to improve the consumer health.