Medicinal mushrooms in prevention and control of diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a life-threatening chronic metabolic disease caused by lack of insulin and/or insulin dysfunction,characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood(hyperglycemia).Millions worldwide suffer from diabetes and its complications.Significantly,it has been recognized that type 2 diabetes is an important preventable disease and can be avoided or delayed by lifestyle intervention.Presently,there are many chemical and biochemical hypoglycemic agents(synthetic drugs),that are used in treating diabetes and are effective in controlling hyperglycemia.However,as they may have harmful side-effects and fail to significantly alter the course of diabetic complications,natural anti-diabetic drugs from medicinal plants have attracted a great deal of attention.Medicinal mushrooms have been valued as a traditional source of natural bioactive compounds over many centuries and have been targeted as potential hypoglycemic and anti-diabetic agents.Bioactive metabolites including polysaccharides,proteins,dietary fibres,and many other biomolecules isolated from medicinal mushrooms and their cultured mycelia have been shown to be successful in diabetes treatment as biological antihyperglycemic agents.In this review we discuss the biological nature of diabetes and,in particular,explore some promising mushrooms that have experimental anti-diabetic properties,preventing or reducing the development of diabetes mellitus.The importance of medicinal mushrooms as agents of medical nutrition therapy and how their metabolites can be used as supportive candidates for prevention and control of diabetes is explored.Future prospects for this field of study and the difficulties and constraints that might affect the development of rational drug products from medicinal mushrooms are discussed.

Medicinal mushrooms in supportive cancer therapies:an approach to anti-cancer effects and putative mechanisms of action

Medicinal mushrooms have been valued as natural sources of bioactive compounds since times immemorial and have been recognized as potential immunomodulating and anti-cancer agents.Their consumption has consistently been shown to have beneficial effects on human health.Cancer is a generic term for several types of diseases that can be chronic and are responsible for a large number of deaths worldwide.Although there has been considerable progress in modern cancer therapy research,difficulties in understanding the molecular behavior of various types of cancers and the numerous side effects experienced by patients from treatments means that this whole subject area is still problematic.Thus,biological immunotherapy using natural bioactive compounds as supportive treatments in conventional cancer therapies has become in vogue.Bioactive metabolites isolated from medicinal mushrooms have shown potential successes in cancer treatment as biological immunotherapeutic agents that stimulate the immune system against cancer cells.They also act as an effective source of anti-cancer agents,capable of interfering with cellular signal transduction pathways linked to cancer development and progression.In this review we compile available data on the characteristics of medicinal mushrooms that appear to be particularly effective as biological immunotherapeutic agents.Major consideration is given to biological constituents and the putative mechanisms of action by which bioactive compounds act on the human body.Consideration is also given to the benefits that have been claimed for the use of mushrooms in treating cancer and the future prospects of using medicinal mushrooms as potent supportive candidate bioagents for treatment of cancers is discussed.

Bioactive metabolites from macrofungi: ethnopharmacology, biological activities and chemistry

Exploration of natural sources for novel bioactive compounds has been an emerging field of medicine over the past decades,providing drugs or lead compounds of considerable therapeutic potential.This research has provided exciting evidence on the isolation of microbe-derived metabolites having prospective biological activities.Mushrooms have been valued as traditional sources of natural bioactive compounds for many centuries and have been targeted as promising therapeutic agents.Many novel biologically active compounds have been reported as a result of research on medicinal mushrooms.In this review,we compile the information on bioactive structure-elucidated metabolites from macrofungi discovered over the last decade and highlight their unique chemical diversity and potential benefits to novel drug discovery.The main emphasis is on their anti-Alzheimer,antidiabetic,anti-malarial,anti-microbial,anti-oxidant,antitumor,anti-viral and hypocholesterolemic activities which are important medicinal targets in terms of drug discovery today.Moreover,the reader’s attention is brought to focus on mushroom products and food supplements available in the market with claimed biological activities and potential human health benefits.

Effect of Geogenic Lead on Fungal and Collembolan Communities in Garden Topsoil

Geogenic lead (Pb) is considered to be less bioavailable than anthropogenic Pb and exerts less effect on the soil fauna. However,Pb contamination in vegetables has been reported in the case of geogenic anomalies, even at moderate concentrations (around 170 mgkg^(-1)). In this study, we investigated collembolan communities using both taxonomic- and trait-based approaches and observed fungal communities to assess the effects of a moderate geogenic Pb anomaly on collembolans and fungi in an urban vegetable garden soil.Results indicated that geogenic Pb indeed modified fungi communities and altered the functional structure of collembolan communities in garden soils. Although geogenic Pb presented low bioavailability, it affected soil fauna and vegetables similar to anthropogenic Pb.