Mycotherapy of Cancer: An Update on Cytotoxic and Antitumor Activities of Mushrooms, Bioactive Principles and Molecular Mechanisms of their Action

Abstract

Mycotherapy is defined as the study of the use of extracts and compounds obtained from mushrooms as medicines or health-promoting agents. The present review updates the recent findings on anticancer/antitumor agents derived from mushroom extracts and their metabolites. The increasing number of studies in the past few years revealed mushroom extracts as potent antitumor agents. Also, numerous studies were conducted on bioactive compounds isolated from mushrooms reporting the heteropolysaccharides, β-glucans, α-glucans, proteins, complexes of polysaccharides with proteins, fatty acids, nucleoside antagonists, terpenoids, sesquiterpenes, lanostanoids, sterols and phenolic acids as promising antitumor agents. Also, molecular mechanisms of cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines are discussed in this review. Findings with Antrodia camphorata and Ganoderma lucidium extracts and isolated compounds are presented, as being the most deeply studied previously.

Chemical features of Ganoderma polysaccharides with antioxidant, antitumor and antimicrobial activities

“…The above mentioned genus has been widely studied regarding its bioactive properties (Paterson, 2006;Nie et al, 2013), including antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumor and other effects (Wang et al, 1997;Wasser, 2002;Heleno et al, 2012;Li et al, 2012;Heleno et al, 2013;Popović et al, 2013;Zhonghui et al, 2013). The beneficial health properties of Ganoderma species are attributed to a wide variety of bioactive components, such as polysaccharides, triterpenes, sterols, lectins and other proteins Ferreira et al, 2010).…”

Nutritional value, chemical composition, antioxidant activity and enrichment of cream cheese with chestnut mushroom Agrocybe aegerita (Brig.) Sing

“…Some common edible mushrooms like G. lucidum or L. edodes (Popović et al 2013;Ferreira et al 2014;Stojković et al 2014) are subject of intense studies for quite some time, so the current focus is on isolated substances or crude extracts derived from lesser-known edible mushrooms (Boh et al 2007;Altobelli 2011). They are the potential source of diverse biomolecules with nutritional and/or medicinal properties (Alves et al 2012).…”

An insight into antidiabetic properties of six medicinal and edible mushrooms: Inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase linked to type-2 diabetes

“…Mushrooms are important dietary components in some cultures, consumed in daily diet as supplementary food since olden times . Mushroom extracts are increasingly consumed because of their health beneficial effects, including the enhancement of immune function and antitumor activity (Popović et al, 2013). It is confirmed that mushroom extracts contain diverse compounds such as alkaloids, fibers, lectins, protein, polyphenols and polysaccharides, which are contributing to their biological activities (Popović et al, 2013).…”