THE EFFECTS OFTREMELLA AURANTIAON TESTOSTERONE AND CORTICOSTERONE PRODUCTIONS IN NORMAL AND DIABETIC RATS

Abstract

Tremella aurantia (TA) has been traditionally used as food and crude medicine in Chinese society. The polysaccharide isolated from the fruiting bodies of TA exhibits significant hypoglycemic activity in diabetic mouse models of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and non-insulindependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Diabetes will cause sexual dysfunction in patients. In the present study, we examined if the treatment of TA on IDDM and NIDDM rats will restore steroidogenesis and then the reproductive function. The fruiting bodies (FB), mycelium (TM) and polysaccharide (GX) of TA were fed to the IDDM and NIDDM rats, and testosterone and corticosterone levels in plasma, the weight of steroidogenic organs, and the expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein and P450scc enzyme were determined. Plasma testosterone productions were significantly suppressed with the feeding of FB or TM in normal rat (p < 0.05). Testosterone productions were also significantly suppressed in IDDM diabetes rats (p < 0.05), and FB or TM could not restore the inhibitory effects (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference of the testosterone production between normal and NIDDM rats (p > 0.05). In plasma corticosterone production, there were no differences among control, FB-or TM-fed normal rats (p > 0.05). Corticosterone levels were reduced in IDDM rats compared to control, and FB or TM could restore its level. Corticosterone levels were induced in NIDDM rats compared to control (p < 0.05), but FB, TM or GX significantly brought the corticosterone back (p < 0.05) to the control levels. Considering steroidogenic organs, IDDM rats with or without TA treatments had heavier testis and adrenal glands, but not epididymis, than normal rats with or without TA TA is kindly supplied by Dr. Solomon P. Wasser (Institute of Evolution, Haifa University, Mt Carmel 31905, Haifa, Israel). This work was supported by National Science Council Grants NSC 92-2320-B006-054 to BMH, Taiwan.Address correspondence to Bu-Miin Huang, Ph.D., Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China. E-mail: bumiin@mail.ncku. edu.tw 395 treatments. There were no effects of TA on the weight of steroidogenic organs among normal and NIDDM rats. However, GX feeding in NIDDM rat had lesser testis weight compared to NIDDM rats. The expression of StAR protein and P450scc enzyme were not different among groups in IDDM and NIDDM rats. Plasma testosterone productions were suppressed in normal rats with the feeding of TA (FB and TM). IDDM rats did have lower testosterone, but not in NIDDM, and FB or TM could not restore the inhibitory effects. The induction of IDDM or NIDDM rats did affect steroidogenesis and steroidogenic organ weights, and the feeding of TA had different effects on steroidogenesis in different types of diabetic rats.

The Fruiting Bodies, Submerged Culture Biomass, and Acidic Polysaccharide Glucuronoxylomannan of Yellow Brain Mushroom Tremella mesenterica Modulate the Immunity of Peripheral Blood Leukocytes and Splenocytes in Rats with Impaired Glucose Tolerance

“…[121314151617] Polysaccharides of Tremella fuciformis have been reported to augment T-lymphocytes in the PBL proliferation and decrease the IL-2 activities in mouse splenocytes in vitro . [12] Jeong et al .…”

“…Growing evidence suggests that mushroom polysaccharides have various biological activities, such as antitumor,[12] antidiabetic,[13] anti-inflammatory,[14] immunomodulatory,[1516] and steroidogenic activities. [17] Tremella mesenterica (Heterobasidiomycetes), a yellow brain jelly mushroom, is a popular edible and medicinal mushroom in Asia. Its pharmacologically active polysaccharides make up 60-70% structural fruiting body polysaccharides and up to 20% of polysaccharides are glucuronoxylomannan (GX).…”

The regulatory mechanism of Tremella mesenterica on steroidogenesis in MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells

“…In our previous study, we demonstrated that oral administration of Tremella aurantia (TA) mycelium reduced plasma testosterone level in normal rats and the feeding of TA could not recover testosterone production in diabetic rats (Lo et al, 2004). Moreover, we have also illustrated that TM could suppress hCG-stimulated steroidogenesis in MA-10 cells with does-and time-dependent manners, and TM did not have any toxicity to the cells (Lo et al, 2005).…”