Antioxidative and hepatoprotective activities of a novel polysaccharide (LSAP) from Lepista sordida mycelia

A novel alkali-soluble polysaccharide from Lepista sordida(LSAP)mycelia with antioxidative and hepatoprotective activities was characterized.The weight-average molecular weight and number-average molecular weight of LSAP were 1.442×10^(3) and 6.05×10^(2) kDa,respectively.LSAP was consisted of glucose(57.9%),xylose(31.8%),and small amounts of rhamnose,arabinose,galactose,glucuronic acid,and galacturonic acid(1.2%–3.1%).The FT-IR and 2D NMR confi rmed that LSAP was composed of Xylp,Araf,4-O-Me-α-D-GlcpA,(1→4)-linkedβ-D-Glcp,and(1→4)-α-D-GalA,andβ-glycosidic linkages between these sugar units.LSAP displayed notable effects on 1,1-dephenyl-2-picryhydrazyl(DPPH)radical scavenging,hydrogen peroxide scavenging,lipid peroxidation inhibitory ability,reducing power and Fe^(2+)chelating property.These biological effects were further verifi ed by suppressing CCl_(4)-induced oxidative liver damage in mice at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg.Administration of LSAP in mice prior to CCl_(4) signifi cantly prevented the CCl_(4)-induced elevation in serum alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase,and hepatic malondialdehyde.Mice treated with LSAP demonstrated to increase activities in superoxide dismutase(SOD)and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)in the liver.We also found out that LSAP prevented CCl_(4)-induced oxidative liver histological alteration.LSAP may exert hepatoprotective effects against CCl_(4)-induced damage through antioxidant mechanisms in model mice.

The families Distoseptisporaceae fam.nov.,Kirschsteiniotheliaceae,Sporormiaceae and Torulaceae,with new species from freshwater in Yunnan Province,China

During a north–south latitudinal survey of aquatic fungi on submerged wood and herbaceous material in streams in the Asian region,we collected several hyphomycetous taxa.This paper is part of a series where we provide illustrated accounts of these taxa and place them in a natural classification in the fungi.DNA sequence based phylogenies in recent literature have shown that Dendryphion,Sporidesmium and Torula-like species are polyphyletic in the phylum Ascomycota and their taxonomyhas been problematic due to a lack of understanding of the importance of morphological characters used to delimit taxa,as well as the lack of ex-type or reference strains.Based on multi-locus phylogenies together with morphology,we propose the novel family Distoseptisporaceae(Sordariomycetes)and three novel genera Neotorula(Pleosporales,Dothideomycetes),Distoseptispora(Sordariomycetes)and Pseudosporidesmium(Sordariomycetes).In addition,Dendryphion aquaticum,D.submersum,Distoseptispora fluminicola,D.aquatica,Kirschsteiniothelia submersa,Neotorula aquatica,Sporidesmium aquaticum,S.submersum and S.fluminicola are introduced as new species.Pseudosporidesmium knawiae comb.nov.is proposed to accommodate Sporidesmium knawiae in Sordariomycetes.The polyphyletic nature of Dendryphion,Sporidesmium and Torula-like species are partially resolved,but further sampling with fresh collections and molecular data of species are needed to obtain a natural classification.