The Mushroom Agaricus blazei Murill Extract Normalizes Liver Function in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B is a global health problem. Use of complementary and alternative medicine has been popular among patients with hepatitis B. This 1-year open-label pilot study aims to observe whether Agaricus blazei Murill extract improves liver function in patients with hepatitis B.Methods: This study involved 12 months of clinical observation. Four (4) patients with hepatitis B who met the criteria (1) aged between 20 and 65 years; (2) being Chinese; (3) having been a hepatic B carrier (HBAg(ϩ)) for more than 3 years; (4) alanine aminotransferase Ͼ100 IU/L; and (5) not taking lamivudine, ␣-interferon, or other drugs for hepatitis participated in the study with informed consent. The enrolled patients were given Agaricus blazei Murill (ABM) extract of 1500 mg daily for 12 months. The level of alanine aminotransferase was taken as the major outcome measurement.Results: At the end of the study, the mean level of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase decreased from 246.0 (Ϯ standard deviation [SD] 138.9) to 61.3 (Ϯ SD 32.6) IU/L and 151.0 (Ϯ SD 86.9) to 46.1 (Ϯ SD 22.5) IU/L, respectively.Conclusions: Our initial observation seems to indicate the potential benefit of ABM extract in normalizing liver function of patients with hepatitis B. Controlled studies with larger samples should be conducted in the future.

Serum hepatic biochemistry and electrophoretic protein profile of healthy and Ehrlich tumor-bearing mice treated with extracts of Agaricus blazei Murill

“…These results corroborate those of Hsu et al (2008) and Wu et al (2011), who found that treatment with A. blazei was led to decreased ALT activity in patients with chronic diseases and rats treated with carbon tetrachloride. On the other hand, Chang et al (2012) found an increase in ALT in experiments with female mice treated with A. blazei.…”

“…Treatments with A. blazei extracts have been shown to lead to AST decreases in mice with hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (WU et al, 2011) and in human patients with hepatitis B (HSU et al, 2008). Similarly, a decrease AST was observed for patients with colorectal cancer treated with Agaricus sylvaticus post operatively (COSTA FORTES; GARBI NOVAES, 2011).…”

<b>Lipid profile and glycemic response of rats fed on a semi-purified diet supplemented with Agaricus brasiliensis mushroom

“…Therefore, the concentration and quality of dietary fiber component present in the composition of the mushroom A. brasiliensis significantly reduce absorption and utilization of important lipid fractions carried by the diet (Hsu, Hwang, Chiang, & Chou, 2008).…”

“…Polysaccharides are the most important for modern nutrition and medicine, whilst -glucan is the best known and the most versatile metabolite with a wide spectrum of biological activities (Chang & Wasser, 2012). Studies conducted on rats have demonstrated effective action of the bioactive compounds found in the genus Agaricus macrofungi on the liver tissue, especially as protective factors of cell types whose activity is essential for the metabolism of fatty acids and other organic biomolecules (Hsu et al, 2008).…”

Antiherpetic activity of an Agaricus brasiliensis polysaccharide, its sulfated derivative and fractions

“…It is also used as antimutagenic, antioxidant, and as immune stimulator [10]. Some studies report the antiviral activity of extracts and compounds from mycelium or fruiting body of A. brasiliensis at replication of poliovirus (PV), Western equine encephalitis (WEE), Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCB) virus and HSV-1 and HSV-2 [11][12][13][14][15][16]. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antiviral activity of an A. brasiliensis polysaccharide, its fractions, as well as, its carboxymethylated and sulfated derivatives in the replication of HSV-1 and BoHV-1.…”